Did you see fireworks last night? We did, and they were beautiful. However, I’ve noticed a new trend in parents not taking their children to see fireworks because of having school the next day. It’s such a stretch from “old” times, when it would be nearly unheard of not to join in on the festivities of the Fourth of July. But now, families are forgoing the light-show extravaganza for sleep.
We took our kids to a little park near us where you can see the fireworks being let off at a nearby high school. I like the park for a few reasons. One, it’s not too close to the fireworks, so if a fire breaks out, we won’t be in harms way. Second, it’s crowded at the park, but not so much so that the kids can’t run around, or play a little ball before the show begins. I do miss being a little closer though, to hear the patriotic music. Maybe next year…
My five-year-old loves fireworks. In truth, we nearly skipped them this year from sheer exhaustion. It had been a busy day in the sun and all my husband and I wanted was to collapse. But one look in our son’s eyes told us we’d better high tail it to the park or we’d permanently scar his patriotic memories forever. Our two-year-old fell asleep in the car but woke quickly when she realized we were going to have “fun.”
Then the show began. And it was lovely. I’d like to say I saw a zillion colors in the sky that night, but the main thing I noticed were the zillion stars in my son’s eyes as he looked up into the night. He was so happy, so full of innocent joy, that it nearly brought tears to my eyes. My daughter was scared at first and buried her head in her Daddy’s shirt. After a bit she peeked open one eye. I suspect she’ll start loving them next year, and I can’t wait to watch her little face in wonderment then as well.
Whether you watched fireworks or not this year, I hope you did something with your children that gave you joy, that allowed you to see light in their eyes too. Memories are precious.
How did you spend your Fourth of July?