Fireworks

I avoided the Canada 150 Fireworks the other night…well maybe I didn’t avoid the explosions, but I avoided the crowds. All around me the sky exploded with light and with noise. It was awesome to sit in the backyard, in the dark, and hear the night sky, rife with sound.  Because I’m reading a book centered around a war, I tried to imagine the explosions of fireworks, as bombs. It truly is hard to imagine what millions upon millions of people have (past and present) experienced…bombs falling around them in the dark. My mom told me of bombs that fell like burning Christmas trees over Königsberg in August, 1944. It sounds pretty…pretty horrific, too.

But last night, here in Canada, is was only my dog and cat who were terrified. When I think of the little children, the innocents, not understanding how one minute there is quiet, and then the next moment, there is only chaos, it baffles my mind. I have this incredibly peaceful life, here in the middle of Canada. It’s early summer. We’ve had lots of rain and everything is a vigorous green. Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, robins, jays, even humming birds visit my yard. The explosions from the other night were celebratory fireworks. There is peace in our country, and yet, this tranquility, this peace is not to be assumed. It is to be appreciated, like summer, like children…fragile, like innocence.