Boom, boom...

That's how Zelda sees fireworks.

So, the twins have been around for three 4th's of July...and maybe they are just starting to get the whole 'holiday' thing. They are grasping the party-idea, picnics, special events, etc. We did the super cool neighborhood parade - Zelda got to pet a chicken! - then there was the big pot luck in the park and lots of time spent in the 'water pool'. I think we'll have to do our own float in the back of Evan's old Chevy truck next year. From our house, we can see at least 4-5 shows of fireworks across the city. Creed watched for about 10 minutes and with prompting, said they were "pretty". Zelda spent the time practicing her curb jumping and said "Boom, boom" every now and again.

I had a 4th of July once that was magical. I was 16; it was summer camp. We were sitting on the trunk of a car in a grocery store parking lot and watched the fireworks over the horizon of a teeny, tiny town near Califon, New Jersey. I remember the air, I remember the company and I remember seeing those flashes of colored light in the sky. Another memorable one was on an inlet in a small coastal town in Maine: little sailboats, good friends and beautiful modest fireworks over the bay. Then there were several down on the mall in DC complete with pot smoke, the Steve Miller band blaring from a boom box and the memory of the Washington monument against a beautiful display of color.

I know Zelda will someday have those moments. She'll have the friends, smell the night air, and capture those slices of life. But I mourn for her. I want her to see the fireworks. I want her to see the lights of Paris when looking out over the city from Sacre Coeur. I want her to squeal with delight when she sees the fireworks on New Year's Eve in Florence. I want her to see the Northern Lights of a summer in Maine - the way they pulsate blue, green and hazy white. I want her to see a lunar eclipse while laying on her back in a canoe on lake or a meteor shower from her sleeping bag in a field on a hot August night.

I don't give a damn about Zelda missing out on cartoons or fashion(!) or make-up or haircuts or driving or even the Mona Lisa. She'll read and listen to TV or movies if she wants to. She'll travel to foreign countries, visit museums and eat in the most amazing restaurants in the world if I have anything to say about it.

But it's missing those damn fireworks, those sunsets, those silent city lights that really, really, REALLY pisses me off.