Independence Day

I hope everyone who reads this and celebrates Independence Day here in the US enjoyed it. I've had a pretty nice holiday weekend. Yesterday I got together with what appears to be my new band. More details to come on that when they become available (as in, when I know what the hell is really going on with it). We had a hot dogs and hamburgers barbecue at my sister's place in the afternoon. I didn't say anything about it to anyone, but I did take a little satisfaction in realizing how far we have all come in the span of a year. We drove down to Portsmouth for the fireworks. The traffic wasn't too bad getting there and we parked down at the Little Harbour Elementary School, my alma mater. Getting home took quite a bit more time because those old, narrow south end streets just weren't designed to accomodate 21st century traffic. I made the most of the situation by taking the opportunity to look into some of the houses along the way to see how they were decorated.
Today I slept in until 8, thanks to the fact that the dog didn't stand whining at my door at his usual 6-ish hour. He was in a bad and babyish mood when we got home last night. He usually isn't left alone at night or for so many hours, so he was bratty and kept trying to chew on my hands. I think it was his way of expressing "bad mama". He was fine after a good night's sleep.
My declaration of independence came in the form of a new grill today. I lost my grill when I moved out last year and even though I have the perfect backyard patio with a lovely little flower garden, I hadn't bought myself a grill. In the course of talking with my girl today I realized that grilling is something I had always considered The Man's job, but it really didn't need to be that way. Buying a grill on the 4th of July is a pretty dicey proposition since most of the decent and reasonably priced ones are sold out, but I did manage to find a nice 22.5 inch charcoal grill with side shelves and utensils hooks for what seemed like an acceptable price. Of course, once I got home I had to assemble the thing, which is another job I tend to consider a "guy job". But it was a beautiful day, so I went out back to the patio with my tools, my new grill pieces and a can of soda and put it together without much problem at all. Then I lit some charcoal, cut up red and orange peppers and a vidalia onion and drizzled them with a little olive oil and put a spice rub on the boneless pork ribs. I grabbed a magazine and a nice cold beer and tended my charcoal and when that was ready, grilled my meat and veggies. It was relaxing. When it was all done my girl and I enjoyed a nice dinner. Oh my god! I'm a woman and I can grill! How's that for some independence?
I'm not saying I have no use for a man. Being in a healthy and loving relationship with a particular man is something I cherish. But I don't need a Y chromosome to get some grilling done. And I don't need it to get the grill aseembled either.