A Road Less Travelled

Saturday we went to a fireworks display that is the finest I have ever seen. Even though it was going to be a late night we took the kids and I am glad we did. We got there maybe two hours before the fireworks started and had a rough time keeping the chillins entertained. Seth told them that the fireworks would start when it got dark so every two minutes Samuel would ask if it was dark yet. We managed to find one of Seth’s coworkers and his family, another coworker and my brother Jonathan. We also managed to find a spot right in front of the speaker that was blasting music so conversation was close to impossible, but watching the Green’s one year old dance was well worth it. When the fireworks finally started I watched the children’s reactions closely. I was sitting on the ground with the three older ones and I got a front row seat to the cutest reactions around. Arianna was bouncing, squealing and laughing all at once. Isaac, who doesn’t like the dark, was yelling, “I can see! I can see!”. But it was Samuel’s reaction that made me smile. He was sitting as still as I have ever seen him with his eyes big and round. He was just sitting drinking in the lights and noise. I was moved by the wonder I saw in his eyes. It made me smile quietly and want to ask him what he was thinking right then. The other children were excited, but Samuel was entranced. When I reached over and touched his arm to make sure he wasn’t scared he jumped and looked at me a little confused as he came out of his reverie. I asked him if he liked it and he smiled a smile that stretched all the way around his head. We got home very late that night and I still haven’t caught up on my sleep, but sometimes you need to do something insane so you can see that stillness and those smiles. The children won’t remember being tired on Sunday, but they will remember the wonder of the fireworks. And that’s a trade off I’d make any day.