Happy 5th of July

What happens when get together with family, friends, and neighbors and you sit and talk while a pack of kids run around barefoot with chocolate stained faces and wide eyes. They are excited about the upcoming fireworks and the fact that they get to stay up really late, outside in the dark, with all the grownups.

Once it gets dark the sounds of the season echo off every house. Pops and booms. Crackles and whistles. Ohhs and ahhs and applause. The smell of gunpowder and smoke drift through the air. Sparkling colors light the sky and reflect off eager faces. Little hands tentatively hold sparklers while parents hover to make sure they don’t burn themselves. Talk of the grand finale circulates.

Just as everyone is becoming tired, five people walk to the center of the cul-de-sac. Lighters light in unison. Sparks fly. The silhouettes of men running like hell. Five loud booms, then a sky full of colors. There is laughter and applause as the smoke starts to clear.

You finish off with plenty of hugs and good-byes. Promises to do it again next year. Then you tuck two sleepy little girls into bed. Smiling at their dirty feet and the icing in their hair. There is a faint smell of independence in the air. It’s a good smell.

When you have all this, and you are me, you have a fabulous 4^th. I can’t wait to do it again next year.