Fourth of July and neighbors

We have a tradition on my cul-de-sac.  We unknowingly began it the first year we moved into this  house and it has been a wonderful blessing!  One of our children is unable to tolerate community large firework events due to his autism.  They are just too loud and overwhelming.  However, he loves the smaller home fireworks you can buy yourself for at home use.  So our family has come up with a solution that works very well for us. Every evening on the 4th of July, our family heads outside to do fireworks.  Our neighbors next door join us, along with their 22 year old son and their grandchildren.  The 22year old adds his firework stash to ours.  He, and my husband, are the fireworks ignitors.  We are also joined by two other families on the street and sometimes more.  We spread blankets on the driveway (safely away from the fireworks going off in the middle of the cul-de-sac street) for the children to sit on.  The adults bring their own lawn chairs.  Bug spray, drinks, and snacks are passed.   It’s two hours of fireworks, fun, and neighborly kindness.  We look forward to it each year.

Happy 4th of July!  May those of us here at home be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and work to bring that freedom to those who do not have it.  May we use our blessings to bless others. 

*This was my WFM Wednesday entry but apparently there isn’t one for this week officially at www.rocksinmydryer.typepad.com .  I wanted to post this here anyway because this tradition really “works for me”.