After a short hiatus from my blog writing, I'm back and
inspired tonight. So far, I have shied away from taking strong stances on
controversial issues in my previous posts.
But tonight, I'm a little fired up and feel the need to voice my frustration.
I've just come from the annual July 4th neighborhood block
party. We all had a great time, until
about an hour ago. That's when I had to
make a pretty immediate exit with the girls.
Now, the party is still going strong, but I'm sitting in my home office
with my kids upstairs doing their best to fall asleep amidst the loud bangs of
fireworks coming from up the block. Several
dozen adults with kids ranging in age from two to eighteen all sitting around
watching a few of the guys setting up and igniting a wide variety of fireworks
purchased just over the border. It's
just another part of the annual tradition, and a tradition that thousands, if
not millions, of people around the country partake in.
And just as lighting the fireworks is a tradition, so is the
thousands of ambulance rides to the hospital that follow each year. Heck, why don't we just grab our guns and
have a wild wild west shootout like we're John Wayne. Ok, so maybe that's a little over the top,
but the fact is, everyone's heard of the dangers, and yet everyone continues to
do it. In 2011, 4 people died and 9,600 were treated in emergency rooms for fireworks injuries.
And worst of all tonight was the challenge of trying to
teach my two daughters why we don't want them playing with fireworks and
sparklers, while watching their friends play with them with the acceptance of
their parents. I'm not sure what was
worse, convincing my kids they are too dangerous to play with, or trying to
explain that they shouldn't worry about their friends getting hurt. What a catch-22.
In the end, once the fireworks started, the loud noise was
too much for either of them to handle and we headed home crying and with hands
over the ears. So I don't think the
desire was there anymore to be a part of the action. But it made me really think about the best
ways to teach my kids right from wrong when there are so many examples of
people they trust doing that same wrong all around us. Tonight it was the fireworks. Tomorrow I'm sure it will be something
else. I guess this is what it's going to
be like now that they've reached the age of being able to understand these
types of issues.
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| Raleigh Fireworks |
Let me conclude by saying that I love my neighborhood and all
of my friends, and this post is in no way meant to reflect poorly on those
involved or to act in specific judgment of them. I've written several other posts about how
wonderful these folks are and how I trust them like family. But it is meant to ask the general question
"Why Do People Insist on Lighting Fireworks?". After all, so much can go wrong. Tomorrow there are fireworks in downtown
Raleigh run by professionals. Let them
do what they do best, and let us do what we do best...watch.
I know I rarely get many comments on my posts, but I'd love
this one to be different. Please share
your personal experiences with fireworks or your thoughts on this topic. I'd also love to hear how you tackle this
types of issues with your kids and teach them to be strong in making good
choices when others may not.
