No Fireworks, but ...

... an outdoor Gospel Choir concert served as a great replacement for Fourth of July Fireworks.  More often than not, it is the little things that we really miss, but occasionally those BIG things show up.  For as long as I can remember, my mother's side has celebrated Christmas in July.  I know - sounds crazy, but so many of us worked in churches or lived far away from the core of the family that December became impossible.  So, we moved it to July 4th.  For awhile we even decorated and exchanged presents, but as the youngest generation got older we forsake presents and began to all donate to a single cause/need each year.  And thus, for 3 or 4 days around July 4th, four generations of family gather for lots of food, games, laughter, story telling, and of course - 4th of July fireworks.

I miss this gathering and hope that one summer, we will be back in the states to celebrate with them. And of course in Spain July 4th is just any ordinary day and with the campaign there was no time to celebrate it anyhow.  But last night, as part of the campaign we hosted the Madrid Gospel Choir for an outdoor concert.  They were fabulous.  It was hosted at an outdoor ampitheater here in Illescas and went from 9:30 to 11:15 - longer than fireworks we have seen.  Many of the songs were sung in English, but the Spanish words of every song were projected for all to read.  Here is a video of the grand finale - better than any grand finale of fireworks!

When we finally got home around midnight I realized I had become a true Spaniard, because I started cooking dinner.  It was only grilled cheese sandwiches, but still... cooking dinner at midnight?