independence day and a little independence

Last Wednesday was the Fourth of July.  We were having some friends over for dinner, but they were not arriving until after 4 o'clock.  I was busy cleaning and getting some patriotic treats made when I received a text from our friends.  They were all heading down to their boats for some river fun.  They invited all of us to go, but I still had a million things to do. 

My husband took the boys down to the river to meet our friends.  They took turns riding in the tubes and swimming in the river.  They had a great time!  My husband and the boys returned home shortly after 4 o’clock.  I had the house ready and most of the food prepared.  The boys were chattering away with stories of merriment that they had on the boats. 

Our friends started arriving at our house after 5 o'clock.  We did some visiting and ate dinner.  After dinner, the kids started playing.  The boys were playing "war games" in the back yard while the girls were busying themselves playing with puppets or practicing gymnastics in the yard.  The kids play so nicely with each other.  These kids are so accepting of SJ.  They never look at him as their "autistic" friend.  He is just their friend and that is why I love this group of kids. 

When the sun went down, the kids were itching to start with the fireworks.  The dads told the kids that they could set off smoke bombs, grounders and bottle rockets.  The moms and I were a little nervous about the kids lighting the fuses.  "Relax, ladies," my husband said.  "They aren't babies," he added.  Okay, they are 10 and 11, but I was still nervous.  There was a dad supervising, but I still had a hard time letting them light them. 

Fortunately, no one got injured and the kids had a great time.  When it got much darker out, the dads took over and set off some of the bigger fireworks that we had.  As the dads were setting ours off, our neighbor, Mr. Parker, was setting off his too.  The rest of our guests sat on our deck and we enjoyed the show. 

When the fireworks were over, the kids returned to the house.  The boys went into the basement to play video games, but the girls wanted to watch a movie.  To keep arguments at bay, I set the girls up with their movie in the playroom.  Everyone was happy! 

The adults stayed on the deck for the remainder of the evening.  I am glad that we let the kids have this independence.  I am sure that the boys will also remember the first time they were allowed to light fireworks on their own.  What a great night with a wonderful group of friends!