I love a parade :)

I do! And so do my kids, my husband, and just about everyone else I know. What's not to love? It's like the whole town comes together to pat each other on the back and celebrate the common good we all work toward every day. This past Saturday brought the Key West Christmas Parade. Every year it starts with the roar of the KWPD motorcycle patrol, with the officers decked out in lighted necklaces. Next comes the mayor, city commissioners, local dignitaries...all waving and tossing candy to the kids lining the streets. Let's cheer for the Boy Scouts and the Key West High School Marching Band! As a parent, I'm clapping for all the time I know those kids' parents spend getting them to and from meetings, practices, and special events. Since we moved here, we've had several people say things like 'how can you raise kids on a party island?' Those people should come to this annual event to watch the display of life beyond Duval Street. Just about every church on the island had a lovely float filled with kids and families. The Boys & Girls Club, a group that assists many local children after school and during the summer, had a float just bursting with holiday cheer. Farmer Jeanne walked with the MCSO Animal Farm's two miniature ponies dressed as wise men, and the local ASPCA brought big cheers just because who doesn't like to see a bunch of dogs wearing antlers? I know I do. Bob the Mailman jumped down from the USPS float to directly hand the girls some candy, and one of their teacher's (marching with the Butterfly Conservancy float) crossed the street for hugs. The Old Town Trolley and Conch Train carry many groups, with lights strung around all the windows and waves and more candy coming from the people inside. And, of course, being a small town, we've got some fire trucks. And boats! Lots of boats. There just really isn't anything more festive that a lighted boat in this town. This year featured lots of 'Frozen' themed floats....aren't we about done with that? Not by the look on the faces of the young ladies in the crowd. They just really aren't ready to 'Let it Go.' And bubbles! A few floats had huge bubble wands, sending glistening orbs into the air. We were lucky enough to watch the parade from nice chairs in front of my hair salon on Truman Avenue. The girls filled two bags with candy, and John and I enjoyed stuffed mushrooms, shrimp, antipasto skewers, and other yummies passed by servers in pink Santa hats. We rode our bikes the short distance from our house to the salon....it still feels like a luxury to do that in December. On the way over, I passed groups of neighbors on Catherine Street mingling on front porches with Red Solo cups of cheer, probably an annual tradition before parade viewing. On the way back, the side streets were abuzz with families walking back to their cars, kids running around with excitement over all that candy. As my daughter Mari said, it was awesome.