For as long as I can remember, it has been an annual tradition in my family to be involved with the Watson Flower Shop float and a parade. The flower shop was opened by my Great Grandparents in 1927 (I think)...and is still owned and run by family. I worked there all through college.
Now, the tradtion has evolved over the years....it used to be the Mesa Days Parade in March....and now it is the Gilbert Days Parade in November. Decorating the float used to involve pinning colored stock (a flower) into styrofoam boards to cover the float....now it involves gluing petals and leaves to boards to cover the float.
But some things never change...each year, it is the 5 year olds in the family who get to ride. I rode when I was 5, as did my siblings, and all (or just about all) of my 52 (yes, I said FIFTY-TWO!) first cousins. Now it is our children who are riding. Each year, many of the rest of the family walks along side the float passing out stems of flowers to parade watchers. It is a fantastic tradition for our family, and one that regular parade attendees look forward to as well.
This year, Sadie was a float rider. She was SOOOOO looking forward to it, and had a blast smiling and waving as the float went down the parade route. Since she is our youngest, she is the last one in our family to ride. It seems strange to think that we are done with that. Here are some pics I took of her that day. Oh yeah, if you are thinking to yourself...."my, it looks a bit warm in the photos....even for AZ".....you'd be RIGHT!! 85 degrees is TOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOT for November!!
Now, the tradtion has evolved over the years....it used to be the Mesa Days Parade in March....and now it is the Gilbert Days Parade in November. Decorating the float used to involve pinning colored stock (a flower) into styrofoam boards to cover the float....now it involves gluing petals and leaves to boards to cover the float.
But some things never change...each year, it is the 5 year olds in the family who get to ride. I rode when I was 5, as did my siblings, and all (or just about all) of my 52 (yes, I said FIFTY-TWO!) first cousins. Now it is our children who are riding. Each year, many of the rest of the family walks along side the float passing out stems of flowers to parade watchers. It is a fantastic tradition for our family, and one that regular parade attendees look forward to as well.
This year, Sadie was a float rider. She was SOOOOO looking forward to it, and had a blast smiling and waving as the float went down the parade route. Since she is our youngest, she is the last one in our family to ride. It seems strange to think that we are done with that. Here are some pics I took of her that day. Oh yeah, if you are thinking to yourself...."my, it looks a bit warm in the photos....even for AZ".....you'd be RIGHT!! 85 degrees is TOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOT for November!!
One of my fondest memories from my childhood is riding the float. I got to ride with my cousin Charlene. She and I were good friends. We were less than 2 months apart, and all the other cousins our age were boys (who we loved too, but there is something special about girl cousins!). She passed away when we were 11, and I cherish the memories I had with her. I called my uncle (who still owns the Flower Shop) and he sent me a photo of the year I rode the float!! You can see that alot has changed....and some stayed the same. Click on the photo for a better look.
I also have to give a HUGE thank you to two of the nurses I work with at Gateway. I did not know the dates of the parade had been changed this year, and I was scheduled to work Friday and Saturday nights. This would have made it very hard for me to be there and be awake, let alone have Sadie there and ready on time. Brandi and Sarah both went out of thier ways to make schedule changes with me so that I could be there, and I appreciated that SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!
7 comments:
That is so neat. Sadie looked so cute. I bet she had the time of her life.
What a fun tradition for your family! That is cool your daughter got to ride on the float. She looks like is so excited. She is such a beautiful little girl!
That is so awesome! What a great memory for all of you!!!
That picture of you is so cute. BTW - love the cub scout uniform. Vintage!
Oh, gotta love those traditions! Fantastic memories too. That's so sad about your cousin.
Sadie looks so adorable, just like her you did on your float. ;-)
Sadie looks so cut in the parade. I would love to invite you to my blog. This is Jayne by the way, Thanks again for all your help.
What a precious photo! It was one of the best things ever to ride, wasn't it? Sadie is such a beautiful little girl!
Post a Comment