Here Comes the Boom



Firework-intensive holidays have never been my favorite, but now as a mother of boys, I loathe them even more. 

 I have good reason. 

There was that one time when a couple of defective mortars shot towards our house and exploded at my feet, leaving my ears ringing and my nerves shaken for the rest of the night. Then this year, one of the members of our household (I'll give you a hint; it wasn't one of the kids) set off a grenade firecracker the wrong way and ended up with a badly burned thumb. And not to mention all the years we were forced to stay at home on the 4th of July with a PTSD-riddled giant of a dog so he wouldn't demolish the bathroom door. 

The real worry for me is the pure glee, that Christmas-morning twinkle in the eyes of my boys as we set them loose in the fireworks store. Fireworks packaging features romance names like "Wolf Pack", "Mineshell Mayhem", "Exterminator" and more, the making their selection not unlike a gunpowder-laden candy store for latent pyromaniacs. I even found myself intrigued by the Rosie the Riveter-themed fireworks collection. 

 Like everything else that's alluring and tinged with danger, we're trying to expose our boys to the right and wrong way to handle fireworks. If it were up to me, we would enjoy them from a mile away, behind glass and in air conditioning. But alas, they must see the sparks up close, feel the boom and experience the exhilarating rush of running away from a lit wick towards safety. 

 My fellow "older millennials" will remember the dangers of playing with fireworks as laid out in the movie "The Butterfly Effect"; a younger version of Ashton Kutcher's character sees multiple outcomes of sticking a firecracker in a neighbors mailbox. I won't spoil it for you, but it never turned out well, and that always stuck in my head as a cautionary tale. I totally used that as an example for my own sons and why they shouldn't play with fireworks. 

 One of our own neighbors this 4th of July was unfortunate enough to have a firework damage her home. She was fine, but her home is ruined. Where did the offending firework come from? She may never know. 

 We are trying our best to teach our boys to enjoy and respect the power behind even the most innocent-looking (or awesome looking) fireworks in the best way we know how. David explains proper safety procedures and shows them the right way to light and handle them. I do my part by telling lots of scary cautionary tales, shielding them with my body, and screaming and jumping every single time a mortar goes off. Hopefully somewhere in between, they get the message and grow to be responsible with fireworks as adults. 

 How do YOU approach fireworks with your kids? Duck, cover and leave me a comment below! 

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