Saturday, July 7, 2007

Playing with fire

A few weeks ago I was shopping at Target and made the impulse purchase of a big box of "legal" fireworks. It might not have been the wisest thing to spend our limited monetary resources on, but I have a happy memory of a couple of years ago when I had a party and my cousin Derek had great fun lighting off a stack of these, and the kids still point out the burned-up spot on the landscape edging and remember the awesome fire that happened there. Plus these things don't last long at the stores AND the box has printed right on it $89 value for only $29! (yet how can that be the value if it's never actually sold for that much?)

So tonight we had a small family party to celebrate some birthdays and then have our fireworks show. I had invited my brother-in-law Hal's mother when we were at their cottage earlier in the day going swimming. (Their family cottage happens to be in the township that we live in, yet was "up north in the country" for them through the years)

First we let the kids do sparklers and those little pop-it bags that you slam down on the cement. I got to keep telling them to be careful. Then my brother-in-laws Mark and Hal did the honors of lighting the wicks the various little packages with the curious names such as "Jade flower" "Sparkling Eagle" and "Friendship Fountain." Jeffrey and I had opened up the box and arranged them in the order of size for a good progressive show. I think that there is a gene for pyromania and Mark and Hal clearly both have it in their DNA spirals. They really would have like to try tying multiple boxes together or launching them into the air, but I wasn't having any of that.

So as we were sitting there watching them light these things, my favorite part was when Hal's mother, who is 79, kept cautioning him to be careful. Hal is 44 years old and was once in the Marines where he shot a machine gun. But she heard in the news about an accident involving fireworks, and he was making her nervous. Oh! So when you are the mother of a boy you get to keep on saying that, no matter what age they are. I am very glad to know that now.
Be careful!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We lit fireworks last night as well. Ours were also legal....in Indiana! If I can figure out how to post the video on YouTube, I'll send you a link.