Heart Pounding

Blankets and chairs, coolers and people littered the grassy area of the park. Frisbess and footballs sailed through the air as people found places to sit. We all patiently waited for the fireworks to start. We played catch, we snacked, we went to the bathroom and we visited and waited. It became darker and darker until the kids gathered closer to our chairs and occupied themselves with glow sticks. The commotion, noise and voices carried on all around us, as we sat among the crowd. Then came a boom! Immediately, there were squeals and people clattering and clamouring to find their seats.

Karsten had been standing in front of me. As the fireworks show started, I searched for Karsten. He had, in a second, disappeared. As the boom of the fireworks began thundering and the sky lit up, my heart raced. "Where's Karsten?" I asked Jason. He looked around and said, "I don't know!" Above the noise of the fireworks, I screamed "Karsten!" Jason said, "He's here, under the chair." We were so close to the fireworks, it looked as if they were going to shower down their fiery sparks right on us. Karsten took cover.

After recovering from the initial shock and being reassured that the sparks couldn't touch us, Karsten leaned back into Jason as if to distance himself from the fireworks just a little more. All the while, he wrapped his legs around Jason's and remained glued to him. Zachary sat on my lap, jumping each time a loud firework went off.

As the show went on, the fireworks built up to what seemed to be the finale. They began shooting off in rapid succession and the spidery smoke clouds floated by and there was silence. The crowd cheered and people began to fold up their blankets and chairs. Just as people began to walk, we heard a whistle as a firework reached up to the sky and burst. The show wasn't done yet. This happened several times during the show and Karsten said, "Is it done for real this time?" We knew it was done for good when the fireworks real finale came. It was louder, more intense and the crowd cheered throughout. It was amazing. It was heart pounding. It made me realize why we make the trek with our chairs, coolers and bags every year to partake in the fireworks show.

As we packed up our stuff and made our way to our van, Karsten piped up. "That was the worst fireworks show ever!" I chuckled and asked, "Why? I thought it was funny and awesome!"

"It was scary!" he exclaimed. "And," he continued, "It kept going after it was done!" The gave us plenty to talk about. It made my heart race in more ways than one.