4th of July: Blast From the Past
July 2, 2008 by Eliza Ferree
Filed under Mommy Extras
This month’s Lifestyles carnival theme is “Blast from the Past” and anything else dealing with the 4th of July so stick around it’ll be a fun week. But are a few favorite memories of 4th of July. To be honest I’m not quite sure how this year will be, but the memories of the past will always be alive in me. First off, this will be our first year out of the military. Every year of the past we’ve been part of this huge thing, even celebrating on a military base was a huge event. I’m not sure if it will be out here, but I am still patriotic regardless so our family will at least have a BIG and fun-filled day.
In the years past I’ve celebrated 4th of July with just my kids and sometimes with the kids and the hubby. Why? Well sometimes the hubby was off at the War in Iraq fighting for the very rights we celebrate, another time he would be working two jobs, a third he was in Okinawa for 1 1/2 years, of course there were also the times he’d get the 24-hour duty. As you can see he wasn’t always there.
But the one I remember the most, was when our son (first born) would see his very 1st Independence Day. This was such a big deal for us because we wanted him to know all the joys of history, the military and everything in between. Our son was only four months old at the time and we planned this huge day of going to the events on the base and following them up with the night at the beach to watch as the fireworks would blast above the ocean. Things didn’t go as planned, we had to cut the day short as we worried the heat would be too much for him and decided instead to have a BBQ at home. Home was a one room apartment that we’d be very happy to move out of when the time came, but it’ll always have a special place in our hearts. Once at home we waited for the sun to begin to go down before we headed back out.
Have ya’ll ever had a baby at a firework display? It isn’t pretty, the sounds are too loud and there is just too much color and people everywhere. Needless to say he screamed, we worried and we drove away. The beach was too close to the display where it was actually going off and smoke hovered over us, on our way home we pulled into the commissary parking lot to watch from there. It was just as beautiful, less crowded and we saw everything without the smoke, noise (as much) or people. We loved it, after that year we would decide to park at places like this from then on.
Fast forward- The year was 2003 and the hubby had just come back from war in Iraq. The town would decide to have a late 4th of July for the troops that would come home in September. But the only thing they wouldn’t think about was the sounds of “bombs bursting in air” and yes when it went off every soldier dropped to the ground. It really showed what they must’ve went through while their time over there and makes you even more proud to see them at home in one peace and knowing the day we celebrate is for people like this. Not the on edge, drop to the ground, but those that fought and saw things no one will probably ever know but it was still for our freedom. For this I’ll always remember the history of this day and the fireworks that proudly burst in the air with all their beautiful colors.
We have a lot to be thankful for.
I know the fireworks at Camp LeJeune were always great. I haven’t seen a fireworks display like theirs in years.
Yes they were, very big. But I’ll never forget that scene.