Sparklers bring that feeling of nostalgia.
I never really treated the fourth of July like a huge event, mostly because my family never really thought of it as an important holiday to celebrate with parties and all that jazz. The most we would do when I was little was sit out on our lawn or driveway with one or two members from Mom's side of the family. (They lived right down the street from us when we lived in Illinois.) When we all moved to Wisconsin, we started going to fireworks at a huge park near our house, but when I got into my teens, I decided that it just wasn't the thing for me. Shawn and I started to make our own tradition of spending the day together instead.
One thing that has always remained and been with me on that day is using sparklers. When I was little, I kind of felt like sparklers were mini fireworks that I could hold in my hands. I mean, seriously, those are even better than the real thing! Every time I hold one, a thrill goes through me-- the very idea that I'm that close to something that's seemingly "out of control" is exciting.
I decided to go home on the fourth of July to get those old vacation feelings back. It's rare that I get to spend time with Kathleen, and it's even more rare to see my friend, Kelly. Kelly and I grew up together, and before I realized that sisters could be best friends, too, Kelly and I had the sister/best friend relationship. We did everything together. Now that we're in college, we only see each other (mostly) on our birthdays. Kelly's birthday happens to be on the fourth, which actually gave me the chance to experience what I've considered to be a fourth of July tradition for me in the past few years. Seeing Kelly and being home gives me that same feeling sparklers do; I get to be with my family and experience that thrill of everything new in my life all at the same time.
I surprised Mom and Kathleen on Tuesday night, figuring that Kathleen and I would be able to catch up by staying up a good amount of the night. I have the worst timing though, because when I got home, I found out that Kathleen had gone to Summerfest with her friends and wouldn't be back until midnight. When she got home, we were only able to talk for a little while until she fell asleep. I was disappointed, but we were able to talk and be crazy together the entire next day. After waking up at two in the afternoon (I needed to catch up on my sleep), I quickly got ready to head over to Kelly's house. Kelly and I rarely get a chance to just sit down and have some girl talk, so like I said in the card I gave her, seeing her on her birthday is like a birthday gift for me, not just her. ^__^
After leaving Kelly's house, I immediately called Shawn to see if he was ready to come over and grill at my house. He was over at my place within a half hour, and he grilled the most amazing steak and barbecue chicken for all of us. Even with Dad not exactly liking Shawn (which is a father and a Filipino thing, meaning that I get a double dose of parental dislike towards my boyfriend), he treated him pretty nicely that day-- probably because Shawn made the food. He crashed on the couch afterwards, giving Kathleen and me the chance to take advantage of all the leftover sparklers we had from last year. We had boxes and boxes of sparklers, more than any other year of my life.
Kathleen and I danced around the front yard taking a good mix of funny and serious photos. The hardest part about taking photos of sparklers is getting them close enough to me without getting too burnt from all the sparks. I think Kathleen and I pulled that trick off pretty well, although, I did hear some complaining coming from Kathleen every once in a while. *giggle* I've never been able to photo log a nostalgic piece of my life like that before so I'm really happy with how they turned out. (The photo to the left makes me look a bit cheeky, but I love the angle-- Kathleen took that one.)
While Shawn had been grilling, I took photos of miscellaneous objects outside: orchids (that Mom made me photograph-- not my idea); Beth's Blythe, Jillian; and my little Laramie. I think taking photos while Shawn grills can be another new tradition that Shawn and I start together for this holiday. Now I have something else to look forward to every year on this day. ^^
Comments
Mayra- Thankies, sweets. ^_^ It's so nice hearing from you again. I tried to catch up with a bunch of your posts earlier, tee hee.
Phillip- Why thank you!
Barb- Aw, I hope you get sparklers next year then. In fact, why wait? You could go and buy them anytime, just for the fun of... sparklers. Haha. Oh, I've never had sparklers on a cake before, but I've seen them on TV and in movies. You're right-- they really do never get old...
Six's Wife- Thankies. ^_____^ I agree. Sparklers rock.
glad you had a nice fourth with your family and boy. <3
The term "poppers" sounds so familiar; that has to be the name. I think I remember my cousin playing with those on our street when I was really little. Those bring back those same feelings of nostalgia! You should try getting them again someday. ^_^
I hope you had a great fourth, too, sweets.
Show me a father with daughters and I show you a guy that hates his little girls choice in guys, remember your always daddies little girl! No guy will ever do!
Its so nice to know you had the time to not only have a great relaxing time but got some photos shot too, just sorry Monday its back to the grind waiting for the weekend to arrive. Welcome to the world of jobs and the responsibility
I do not speak English nor a little, but tradusco what they say to me in a translator, that good that you like my drawings you can see them in my page
http://www.fotolog.com/tuzalandia
The weeks are going by pretty fast, so I don't dread Mondays right now, not like I do during the school year. It will be interesting when classes start up in September, that's for sure! The extra responsibility is nice for once. I've been lazy the past few summers, so it's nice to pick up more slack. ^__^
Thank you for the link. ^^ I'll go ahead and check that out.
Your girls are so pretty. :)
I can understand why you would be scared of them. When I was taking photos with the sparklers, I was freaked out about the sparks hitting my eyes. I guess that's where the "thrill" feeling comes from, right? Haha.
I think I'll make it my missiong to find pink sparklers. If I find any, I'm definitely going to let you know. Maybe they can help you overcome your small fear, tee hee.
Oh, and thanks for your sweet words. Even if I don't look cheeky to some, I think I feel cheeky just looking at that photo. *grin*
I love the photos with you and Beth and the sparklers! I think Sparklers and smoke bombs were the only fireworks I wasn't afraid of when I was little, haha. They bring back great memories for me as well. ^__^ Glad that both you and Shawn had a nice 4th with your family! <3