By I Am Re’nee
This 4th of July looks different for us.
We’re not on vacation or alongside family and friends.
We’re not poolside with everything picture-perfect.
The rain won’t let up. The pool parts didn’t all come in.
And I’m still navigating sickness that’s tried to steal more from us than I can explain.
But today, I’m choosing joy anyway.
Not the kind you wait on—
the kind you build with what you’ve got.
We scrubbed the pool as a team.
It took longer than expected and it’s still not done.
But my babies were smiling. Laughing. Helping.
They saw progress.
And that matters more than any finished product.
I told myself:
“If life doesn’t show up shiny, I’ll still show up grateful.”
So today , rain or shine—we’re celebrating.
BBQ in the yard.
Music in the background.
Water balloons, water guns, maybe fireworks if we can catch a ride.
But no matter what—we’ll be together.
This season has been tough.
My sickness has shifted so much.
There are days my body doesn’t want to cooperate.
Days where it’s hard to show up as the mom I used to be.
But my love for them? That hasn’t changed.
If anything, it’s grown deeper.
Because through all this pain, we’ve learned how to fight for life.
How to fight for each other.
We didn’t move here just to survive.
We came to live.
And that life we dreamed of?
It’s coming—one choice, one memory, one laugh at a time.
So here’s to new traditions.
Ones that aren’t based on perfection, but presence.
Ones that honor our now, not just our “one day.”
We’re still becoming.
Still healing.
Still building the family dynamic that’s rooted in joy, faith, and unity.
And no matter what’s missing on the outside,
we’re still full of everything that matters on the inside.
Happy 4th of July—from our family, reclaiming joy, one day at a time.
– I Am Re’nee
“ Renée Reflections “ 