4th of July: A Time to Celebrate!

My son at the fireworks!

This year was the best fourth of July fireworks.  It's not that they were the most spectacular, they were the best because my son watched them from the front row.  It's quite an accomplishment when you consider the love/hate relationship he's had with them since he was a little boy.  He liked them from afar, but hated being too close.

So ever since then, we've been working on what I call fireworks desensitization.


At first, he was only able to tolerate them from a mile away with the windows closed.  We eventually got the car closer and he would put the windows up and down as he could tolerate.  In time, we moved to sitting on the grass a half mile away, but the car was parked in front of us so he could take refuge if he needed.  This year, we were as close as they allow you to get.  Sure, he plugged his ears once in a while, but he truly enjoyed every bit of it.  He was so happy!  I enjoyed the fireworks, but I was so happy to watch him and see how far we have come.