When my daughter-in-law, Karen, invited me to her big Fourth of July celebration, she made one thing very clear:
“Don’t bring anything.” She even called me three times to repeat it, insisting she had everything covered. It felt strange because I was raised never to show up empty-handed, but I decided to respect her wishes. The only thing I brought was a small bag of toys for my grandkids, including little microphones with American flags on them.