We have a lot to look forward to. And a lot to look back on. And a lot to be grateful for in this moment.

Once again, the sisters of The Sister Lode are moving and shaking.

It seems life has a funny way of showing us what our choices are. Sometimes, it appears we have no choice in certain matters. Sometimes, it seems we have only one possible choice that will work. Sometimes, however, when we don’t like the choices offered to us, we find a few new ones.

We’ve learned to think outside the box like that. We’ve also learned that we can go back and un-check some of the boxes we once checked. We can take ourselves out of the game, if we no longer want to play. This doesn’t make us quitters; it actually makes us beginners in new directions.

In short, we have not limited Independence Day to just the Fourth of July; we have made Independence available every day. Perhaps this was a foreign concept to us in the not-so-distant past, but with Mom’s wisdom and a little flexing of the I-can-do-what-I-want-to-do-as-long-as-it-doesn’t-break-The-Ten-Commandments muscles, we are moving on to some pretty exciting things.

Stay tuned for more details in future posts, this juicy, hot news isn’t yet off the presses.

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Our country’s birthday came two weeks ago today, and my home hummed with its usual guests and celebrations. We hosted family, and my friends came for the week as they always do for July 4th–an incredible pair of sisters and their three daughters who are like family.

As always, fun was had, memories were made, and goodbye came too soon. Suzanne and her husband were able to join us, but we had to celebrate without Gail.

Gail is celebrating some wonderful news in her family, but, like the news above, it’s not yet off the presses. Suffice it to say it is bringing wondrous joy to all of us.

July is my favorite month of the year, and I don’t plan to take down my red-white-and-blue decor anytime before the end of the month. If I could, I would likely leave it up all year. My beloved, however, may frown upon that, and the neighbors, while it may not be frowned upon like year-round Christmas decorations are, may wonder what their crazy neighbor lady is thinking now.

No worries, I have an entire red-white-and-blue room in my home. If you should ever be an overnight guest, you will likely spend the night in my America/Kansas room. Just don’t plan on visiting for the last few weeks of August, because, along with one–and hopefully two–of my sisters, I will be away on yet another adventure.

Stay tuned for those details, too. You can safely bet the fun will be unprecedented.

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If we could, we would bring any takers along on our adventures. But, we won’t, because this is our gig. Greater than that idea, however is this: we hope to inspire you to find Independence Day every day in your life, too. If your mind needs it, we hope to broaden your idea of the possibilities for Independence and happiness in your life. We hope you can see that sometimes throwing some–but not all–caution to the wind is a good idea. We hope to show you that if some part of your life isn’t working, you have the power to change it. It takes work–starting with the mental kind, and while still keeping Mom’s Ten Commandments mantra mentioned earlier in mind, it can be done.

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1: July Fourth is Independence Day. 2: May Fourth offers a May the Fourth Be With You message. 3: March Fourth became March Forth for us when our parents died on that day. In short, please take these three messages from each of those dates with you: 1: Find your own Independence, whatever it looks like for you. Listen to the quiet, small voice whispering inside; it is infinitely wiser than all the big, loud voices outside of you. 2: May The Force Be With You. It’s there–find your own way to tap into it. 3: Whatever hardships life may hand you, keep pushing through them. Not around them, not over them, but through them.

The three sisters of The Sister Lode are pulling for you on the Fourth, and every day of the year.

Special thanks to our dear reader JoAnn, who spotted Suzanne and me at a garage sale this weekend. She recognized us from this blog.