Today was 4th of July, a celebration of all things American. I used to love the idea of BBQ and swimming followed by fireworks at night since this is about the middle of summer. Then we moved into this "faggoty" HOA controlled house which meant we would have to celebrate generically. I don't think fireworks hurt anything when done right (I know they cause hundreds of lost fingers and small fires when unsupervised), sorry but we've been popping fireworks since I was a kid so 40 plus years times 2 (4th of July and New Year's) and I can't recall any injuries, maybe a burned finger on a younger kid from an out of control sparkler. I know, too many stupid people pulling their guns out and shooting straight up is plain ignorant and irresponsible, but we never did any of that.
So now it has become a holiday we are rarely at home for. We have been going to my in-laws over the last ten years or so because they technically live outside SA city limits (outside loop 1604), so the kids can run around lit fireworks and play with matches and lighters until their little fingers grow raw from trying to strike a lighter lit in the wind outside. This year we were pretty excited at the thought of going to the coast to meet my parents for a few days but then Boy got sick. Instead of thinking about having fun, I started thinking about getting through the summer and saving money and then I got hesitant because I didn't want to spend $150 a night for a hotel plus eating out every meal times even 2 or 3 days seemed like an excessive way to go. Wife then mentioned her dad going in for surgery on Monday, so I thought maybe we should spend some time over there, since she rarely sees them. As of last night, they had changed the plans saying he wasn't feeling up for company, so we were just going to stay home and grill some ribs and maybe sit in the hot tub. This seemed like the way to go, so as not to spend money and still celebrate and maybe even still see some fireworks if we sat outside. Wife got up to an early call from her sister to go ahead and come, they would be making some food and even if it was not a big party, we could still have dinner together.
My boys wanted fireworks (Boy did not bring GF, so he didn't have to be cool), so we stopped and man, have things changed. We walked in the fireworks metal building and were greeted by a display as tall as me for $700. This thing would not have fit in Wife's Kia, it was bigger than her roof. There were smaller displays for $550, $400, $350, $199, $120 and then down to the kiddie bags in the $20-$40 range. Javalina got a kid's bag when I joked that he was still a tank popper, as that was the only way to buy the little tanks we have always enjoyed. I wanted a big "boom" package so I settled on the $69 box of cannons. This kind sound like a shotgun and then blow up with bright colors and sound. Wife chose a few and Boy got a few. We walked out spending $180 which I did not really want to do, but it is part of the fun, isn't it?
Nowadays, I try to carry about $100 in my wallet at all times and I knew we were going to get some fireworks, so I had grabbed an extra $100 from my stash (my stash being Javalina's Disney money I try to keep in the closet). What amounted to about 15 minutes of fun left me with a lame $20 and a couple 1 dollar bills in my wallet until next payday, but I guess it was fun while it lasted. In the past, my brother in law who has four boys also gets a bunch of fireworks, but he wasn't around, same for Wife's other cousins and family members, which makes the fun last for hours. I think the boys enjoyed the few minutes we lasted outside tonight. Usually, we are there until midnight or later, but we made it home before midnight this year. I guess all's well that end's well.
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