My Fourth of July Victory

I have been dreading this day. Uggg, taking the two kids to watch fireworks alone filled me with fear. There was a moment I thought it wouldn't happen. My husband's co-worker, who he carpools with, overslept. We thought that he would have to drive himself in and then no fireworks for us. Instead his coworker managed to get ready in time and I had the car.

The closer it got to the time to leave to more anxiety I felt. They were so excited though. I couldn't let my anxiety keep them from watching the fireworks. So I made the Kool-aid and we loaded up into the car. It was just me and the kids, off to face the trials and tribulations of our firework display.

Every year we have gone as a family of four. My husband drove and made the decisions about where we parked and where we sat and what we did. This year he had to work and it was all up to me. So instead of making the left turn where he always turns I went straight. I turned finally when we got to the canal and I saw that my destination parking lot was full. Then I saw the bridge that goes over the canal, and it was traffic free. I think I heard the choir of angels sing when the thought came to me. Cross the bridge, they said.

As I crossed the bridge I noticed some people had set up chairs and were facing where the fireworks would be coming from. Brilliant I thought!!! The view was ideal. Just after I crossed the bridge to my right was a parking lot with visible spaces to park in. I was thrilled.

Now as we crossed the bridge and I let the kids think it was their idea to watch fireworks from the bridge by talking about the amazing view they saw our local donut bakery and snacks were decided upon. So we avoided the supermarket with the long lines. Donut holes were purchased and back to the bridge we went.

For a short while I was worried about traffic, but the closer it got to 10 pm and the start of the display the less cars crossed the bridge. The bridge sidewalk filled up as others saw that the view from there was amazing. Even with the side of the bridge filled with people it was not anywhere as congested as sitting by the river would be. We had a nice family to the left and another to our right.

It was the family to the right that my children bonded with. The boy sitting next to my son was mentally handicapped. My son didn't even notice, he didn't notice that he looked different and the two of them talked to each other like they had been friends for years. I was so proud! While the fireworks were being launched I found the two of them more interesting to look at. It was magical.

From the bridge we could see other displays that were at tree level. We were worried that our spot would be bad. It turns out that we had nothing to worry about. The fireworks began and they were right in front of us. The wind was blowing the smoke away from them. Then I realized that if we were at our usual spot the smoke would be blown straight back from the display so it would be right there for the whole display. Our spot was even better now.

By the time the display ended and my daughter was applauding after every explosion the brilliance of our location became even more clear. We said goodbye to our neighbors and walked back to our car. We got there in less than five minutes. Then after we loaded in and were all buckled up I pulled into the street, there was no traffic! I knew where the traffic jams were every year, the three main roads would be like a parking lot, so instead of turning right and heading directly into traffic hell I went straight, I went to the next main road that crossed the creek. It was a little further to get home because of the detour, but I bypassed all the traffic.

We got home before 11 pm. There were no arguments, no crowds to fight, no spilled beverages, and the people selling the overpriced glowing useless toys never found us. I never got stuck in traffic and found a parking place near the place we watched the fireworks. It was the best Fourth of July ever. My anxiety was gone, I had a great time and the kids were well behaved. Is it just a coincidence that this was also the first time their daddy wasn't with us. I don't even care, all I know is that I won this Fourth of July, we saw the fireworks and had a good time. I guess it can happen.