As a foreign military spouse, the Fourth of July has always held a special place in my heart, as it was on this specific day, several years ago, that I first moved to the United States of America, the country I now proudly call my home.
Though I had seen people celebrating this famed holiday on TV and heard many stories from my husband on how his family honored Independence Day, no media account nor family recollection could have ever prepared me for the abundance of emotions that celebrating the Fourth of July in the United States of America made me feel.
Soon after leaving the airport, my young family and I arrived at our duty station where we were welcomed by countless American flags framing every house, and I looked on in awe as the sense of pride in the stars and stripes and what they symbolize was palpable. Standing outside their homes, people smiled at one another and wished friends and strangers a Happy Fourth.
As we walked down the streets to familiarize ourselves with our new environment, the tangy and sweet smell of barbeque sauce tickled my nose and the aroma of the many cuts of grilled meat made my stomach gurgle. Cheers and laughter danced from backyard to backyard, while children ran carefree, and dogs jumped up with joy and excitement.
When the late afternoon began to usher in the evening, my family and I, accompanied by many other people who were stationed at the same military base, gathered on vibrant and luscious green lawns to look up at the colorful and bright fireworks light up the darker sky, perfectly concluding a day of proud celebrations and genuine happiness.
While the fireworks kept whistling and booming, eliciting smiles from the astonished onlookers, I glanced around me and saw a beautiful mosaic of people from all different cultural backgrounds and beliefs brought together on that special day to celebrate a binding core value that our military members and their families hold dear and close to their hearts: freedom.
Every year since, on the Fourth of July, I am reminded of the day I arrived in the United States of America and the sense of pride felt throughout the entire nation; and every year since, I too embrace and celebrate the holiday and the freedom it granted me, a foreign military spouse.
