Happy 4th of July

Today is Independence Day for my country. Many will celebrate with cook-outs, parties, and fireworks. I always enjoyed the 4th growing up because we would sit at the beach in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and watch the fireworks between us and Martha’s Vineyard.

One year when I was a young mother I was showing the girls how to hold a sparkler so that they didn’t get burnt. Well, guess what? Yup, I ended up with a burnt hand and a visit to the Emergency Room.

So, I have always had a healthy respect for fireworks, and quite honestly, I leave it to the pros.

Flash forward to last night. In years past our neighbors have shot off a few fireworks and although it shook up Lili, it wasn’t too bad. But last night was horrible.

Our neighbors were shooting off high-quality explosive fireworks. You know, the ones that shoot far into the sky and then blossom out in various colors.

Explosion after explosion found Lili near panic as she raced around the house, trying to find a safe place. I sat with her, but each explosion found her jumping away. After about 45 minutes Jack got up to see where the fireworks were coming from and unfortunately, they were coming from a house one street over and one house up. And worst than it being so close and upsetting Lili, the sparks were coming down in our yard. Thank God for rain, as we had had moderate rain all day long and the grass was still wet.

Jack opened the siders to see how far into our yard the sparks were landing. That’s when the unthinkable happened!

A panic-stricken Lili slipped by Jack and ran out the door! I pushed Jack aside and began hollering for Lili. I yelled for two reasons. I desperately wanted her to come back inside for her own safety, and I wanted my neighbor to understand that things had reached a dangerous level.

So, there I was running up the driveway in my nightgown and slippers. I was calling for my girl, and just as I was going into my garage to get the car, I saw my beautiful girl running down the driveway toward me. I quickly got her in the garage and closed the door.

Jack was on the phone with the Police. In this one instance when Jack was saying to me that this had to stop, a voice from the other yard say “F-off”! Not what anyone should say to deescalate a bad situation. In fact, I react badly when someone says that to me.

The Police arrived and we explained that the sparks from the fireworks were coming into our yard, which made us quite nervous, (Think propane tank close to where the fireworks were landing!) as well as poor Lili.

The Police Officer said that he did not believe that our neighbor had a permit for these high explosive fireworks and that he would go over and talk to them.

I sat up with both Jack and Lili (and by this time Arnie was freaking out) until I felt sure that the fireworks were over for the night, then went off to bed.

I am sure I will be looked upon as being the bad neighbor, but honestly, this time I feel completely justified for my actions.

Please remember that not only do some dogs fear the noise and sounds of fireworks, but combat Veterans with PTSD find them horrific, as they bring the war right back to them.

In most cases, it is best to leave fireworks to the professionals. They have them in places away from people’s homes and animals.