Tip of the Fireworks to Ya!

Nope, not posting from Up North. Thought I'd pull up a few archives by "popular" demand. Actually, Kathy sent me an e mail that reminded me of this particular event.



I have talked quite a lot about my four, The. Mr., Daboyz and me. My immediate family.
Today I feel I have no choice but to say a word or two that might explain how I got here.
Three words actually ; my extended family.
The cast of characters is as follows...Parents Hal & Pat and sister Amy. Amy’s husband Rob. Paternal grandmother Diana. Dad’s sister, Kathy (Kathy is only four years older than myself, no other sibs). Kathy’s daughter Brooke, age 6. This is the “Trent Side” and the gang I will focus on today.
We are an intact family. We are together for holidays and family functions and whether we want to be around each other or not. We help ourselves to food from one another’s pantries and have keys to one another’s homes in case no one is there and we want a snack or need to take an emergency shower.
We are a family of strong personalities. Every one of us. I know in most families there is a matriarch or a central figurehead. We are all figureheads. We are all strong-willed and have a bit more “personality” than we should have.
We gather together and dive head first into good times and create memories that are altogether unique and ridiculous. One such even happened just this past weekend.
“The Fireworks”.
Kathy, “Hey everybody! Anyone want to go to the fireworks at the Metropark on Saturday?”
(Kathy is the main fireworks/street festival/local carnival queen)
Me, “I hate the fireworks.”
Kathy, “Too bad, you’re goin’.” Ahh, the fine art of family communication. Rule number one, putting others first.
Me, “Fine. But I’m going to hate it.”
Daboyz, “We’re not going, too many freaks at those things!”
Me, “I know!”
The Mr., “What kind of snacks are we taking?”
Amy, “We can meet at my house and load up blankets and chairs and snacks and all ride together!”
Amy is the hostess with the mostest so we take great advantage of her and use her home like a community center for the underprivileged, a.k.a. the rest of us.
Me to Amy at work, “Let’s not make this a drawn-out affair. I’ll be to your house around 8:00.”
Amy, “That’ll be good actually because I have a baby shower on Saturday afternoon and...”
Me, “Whatever. I hate the fireworks.” Rule number two of family communication, it’s always a pleasure just to be together.
So Saturday the Mr. and I headed out to Amy’s house to meet the others. My parents are up north at their cottage but things would’ve pretty much gone the same way with them here.
We arrive, sans Daboyz, at Amy’s and Kathy is naturally already there as she is a fireworks roadie. Goes to every one within a 50 mile radius every year. Has been know to climb a service ladder to the roof of the Taylor Sheridan Center for a better vantage point.
Me, as we’re pulling up, “Ok, listen up Mr. I hate the fireworks. The metropark is just up the street so, “
Mr., “Should we go get a cooler?”
Me, “Listen up!, We’re going to suggest staying here and watching from the back yard. Ya got me?”
Mr., “Will we be able to see? I have Twizzlers in my pocket.”
Me, “I don’t care if you can see or not! You can just listen to them if you can’t see them! You back me up on this or else!”
Mr., “Ok.”, Third rule of family communication, listen carefully for the concerns of your loved ones.
So we arrive and wait a few beats before I slide it in, “How about we stay here and watch them from the yard? Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Amy, to Brooke, “What do you think sweetie?” Fourth rule of family communication, everyone’s opinion matters.
Brooke, “It’s not up to me. That is up to the adults.”
Kathy, “That’s right! We are working on RESPECT!”
Me, “Find out what it means to me.” Fifth rule of family communication, hijack statements and turn them into song lyrics for no apparent reason.
Amy, “We want to know what Brooke thinks.”
Kathy, “No we don’t.” Sixth rule of family communication, we love our children and their opinions matter too.
Rob, “The fireworks are going to scare the dogs.” Seventh rule of family communications, it’s fun to insert statements about animals at any given point, especially their emotional well-being.
Amy, “Rob could go get marshmallows to roast if we stay here!”
Kathy, “I’m in!”
Me, “I can’t eat anything.”
Dean, “I love Sh’mores!”
Me, “What are you, a Yiddish camper?” Eighth rule of family communication, mock often.

And so it was decided that we would stay at Amy and Rob’s to watch the fireworks from the back yard.
We waited around until 10:00 having sent Rob out for Sh’more supplies and a little matzo ball soup, it was like buttah.
Then we headed out back where Amy complained that Jay and I (Jay having shown up hearing about the change of venue); always hog the patio swing. So we laid down on it.
Rob got the fire going, the dogs wondered around endangering their various appendages. Sh’mores were made and the show began...
The darkened summer sky lit up slightly to the south and beyond the VERY TALL ROOF TOPS.
Obstructed view seats.
Amy and Rob have a set of steps from their bedroom that we like to call “the bleachers”. We decided we might see better from the bleachers so we moved the motley bunch of fire workers down to the bleacher seats.
Then we realized that we all had to line up against the far northern edge of the bleachers, stand up and lean to the left to see the show.
So we’re leaning and watching and Kathy says,
“I can only see the tips!”
Yes, fireworks do have tips.
Naturally Kathy, being the fireworks afficionado would be the one to point this out.
So we all stood on the bleachers in a line leaning left for half an hour watching the fireworks.
At one point we could see only a faint glow which Jay explained was the aura.
I told Brooke that fireworks were like an iceberg, there’s 90% more where you can’t see it.
Actually, that’s kind of like our family too.
We all kind of lean in goofy directions and often our plans become ridiculous hijinks.
Sometimes you have to kind of squint and look really hard to see the tips of how much we love one another. But we know that even when there’s only an aura of that love visible, 90% more lies beneath. And the stuff you can’t see is rock solid.
We are loud and silly and eccentric and opinionated.
We will tell one another if we think they’re stupid or lying.
If my make up looks bad, someone will point it out and if our roots need touching up, that’s fair game.
We will tell each other we don’t want to get together, then show up anyway and complain. And still enjoy it.
We’ll change each other’s plans and eat each other’s Twizzlers.
We’ll go through life clinging to each other and leaning which ever way we have to to see the show, as long as we’re watching it together.
Even if you can only see the tips, it’s a great show.
I wouldn’t miss it for anything.

Psalm 68:3
But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.


Original post date: 7/3/06