Fireworks & All That American Jazz

A towering cone of cotton candy: the
verdict? Sweet. And sticky

Last night was a first for us; on what was our fourth Independence Day spent overseas, we attended our first "real" 4th of July celebration. And by real I mean all of the food, games, festivities and of course fireworks that I remember from the Independence Days of my childhood. The celebration wasn't huge but it gave us the little piece of home that we didn't quite realize we were missing. And, most importantly and my absolute favorite part of the night, was introducing Sidney to his first All-American celebration. And that was pretty amazing.

Even when we were in the United States, we weren't carnival or fair people but last night's small dose of Americana was pretty darn nice. A portion of the base had been transformed into a fair grounds with super sized tents, music, food vendors and rides. With the exception of a few intermittent showers (which is impressive by Belgium standards) the evening was dry. While DJs played their music, pimply teenagers were on the prowl, toddlers ran around underfoot and crowds milled around the tents drinking American beers and eating all of the foods I associate with fairs. My pulled pork sandwich followed by funnel cake was one of the best things I had eaten in a long time. I contributed this to the fact that I have eaten neither of these items in years if not decades. Sidney's first foray into cotton candy was a sweet and sticky adventure but then again what child doesn't have memories of eating mounds of spun sugar.

Sidney watched the carnival rides with fascination immediately declaring that he wanted to ride on the biggest and scariest ride of them all. We talked him out of it and instead he happily rode the bumper cars with Glenn. I remember riding the bumper cars with my own father at the same age and little seems to have changed. Each bump was met with a peal of laughter and a request for more. Then there was the fun house and the giant slides that Sidney slide down over and over again. He contemplated a tilt-a-whirl which he studied for a long time. Sidney initially wanted to take a ride but after watching it spin for several turns decided to wait "until he is six". But because we are on a military base in Belgium the entertainment went beyond the traditional carnival rides. Period actors dressed was World War II attire stood along side jeeps and weaponry of the time. Kids tried on the helmets and tested the guns as parents snapped pictures. (I'll be honest, I never dreamed I'd be watching my son hop amongst the artillery at a carnival). But he loved it.

Because this was the Fourth, the highlight of the evening was the fireworks that concluded the evening. Now we saw a lot of fireworks while we were in Albania; they regularly lit the sky in bits and spurts throughout the year with New Years bringing about the biggest bang of them all. While their scale was impressive they were noisy, chaotic and tinged with a bit of danger. They lacked the artistic design of well orchestrated shows and most often left me feeling agitated. Sidney was equally impressed and scared by the Albanian fireworks. But last night? That was an entirely different story. As he laid on the grass on the edge of the baseball field looking up at the sky, he provided us with an ongoing commentary about their color, size and shape. His descriptions were punctuated with giggles of laughter and such adjectives as amazing, wonderful and magnificent.

Watching him watch the fireworks filled me with motherly happiness since my little boy was finally experiencing one of the joys from my own childhood. Sometimes I worry about the simple things he is missing out on because of our living overseas. He may have visited most of Europe's capitols but he's never experienced a real American Fourth of July. Until last night that is. And as we drove home close to midnight (after all it stays light really late here in Belgium) he continued to chatter excitedly about his evening. As he said, he had so much fun. I'm sure that many of his memories of his overseas childhood will only be fleeting in later years. I'm hopeful that last night is one of the ones he remembers.

Fireworks 

Observing one of the rides. After
studying it Sidney informed us that when
he is six he will be big enough to ride it.

Boo!

Today is Halloween.  Also known as All Hallow's Eve, there is controversy as to the true history of this day.  Some say it is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals while others say it has always been a Christian celebration and yet others trace its origins to pagan roots.  Regardless of Halloween's origins, today much of the world celebrates by dressing in costumes, attending parties, and going door to door asking for either tricks or treats.  For many, it is a time honored childhood tradition.

Now, I'm probably in the minority here when I say that Halloween is my least favorite 'holiday'.  I don't dislike it on moral or religious grounds the way some people do; its just a personal preference.  No matter how much I try, I just can't get into the decorating, dressing up, and doling out of candy.   I suppose I can understand how most children get into it but I'm completely flummoxed by adults who feel the urge to dress up and run around like children.  And I even felt this way even as a child.  Maybe it was living in a rural area as a child where going door to door asking for treats was virtually impossible.  Lacking this opportunity, we used to gather at local grange halls (the rural precursor to community centers) for ghost and pumpkin themed parties.  My mother would dress my brother and I into our homemade costumes, pile on the heavy outer layers to protect us from the New England chill, and off we would go.  And I hated it.  Strange child that I was, I was most relieved when Halloween of fifth grade found me inflicted with a case of chicken pox (again, this was back in the days before the vaccine was readily available).  Because I was contagious I was off the hook for Halloween that year.  Finally I reached the point where I could forgo trick or treating all together without feeling like the odd ball amongst my friends.

In college I attended a costumed party or two and rolled into adulthood essentially avoiding the 'holiday.'  I seemed to luck out and live in one neighborhood after another where children were sparse and trick or treaters even more so.  I will admit that there was more than one October 31st where I sat at home with the lights out hoping that no one would ring the doorbell.  Sidney's first Halloween found us living on a military base where children outnumbered adults three to one.  Trying to get into the spirit of things we bought what I thought was a lot of candy, dressed Sidney up like a little bat, and dutifully handed out candy.  It lasted a total of 15 minutes since we were immediately overrun but children and teens, some costumed and some not. (I'm sorry, dressing like a teenager when you are one does not constitute a costume in my book).  When the candy ran out we turned off our light and continued with our normal evening routine.  And I breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn't have to deal with it again for another 364 days.

As Sidney gets older it is getting harder and harder to avoid Halloween (although I imagine it is easier to avoid here in Albania than it is in other parts of the world).  As his friends get excited about dressing up and going door to door I don't want him to feel left out of the festivities solely because of my dislike of the proceedings.  And besides, Glenn enjoys it all.  So this year, Glenn took Sidney to the store to pick out his costume and tomorrow Glenn will take our little pirate to the Embassy's Halloween party (which ironically, due to my job, I am charged with planning).  I haven't decorated our home but I'm making sure that the Embassy ready to go.

I'm hopeful that my attitude towards this day will change as Sidney gets older.  For his sake, I will do my best to get into the spirit of the day but refuse to don a costume myself.  When he wants to carve pumpkins (an easy task to avoid here since they are so hard to come by), decorate the house, or go trick-or treating, I will make sure he has the opportunity to do so.  I will do this because, as parents, those are the type of things we do for our children.

Now give me Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that is an entirely different story.  These are my kind of holidays.  So bring on those days and I'll be much happier.