Independence Day, Fourth of July....that summer holiday that celebrates the independence of our United States of America. It's our nations most celebrated holiday and with it comes a day off of work (for most), swimming, parades, picnics, the smell of barbequeing grills and .......fireworks. While I am a lover of the history of our great country and get moved every time I hear our National Anthem, I cringe every July 4th as I hear the pop, pop, pop going on outside, all around our neighborhood and beyond. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good fireworks display and look forward to attending a celebration at a local park that, in my opinion, is the best in the Lehigh Valley. But it's hearing that distant popping going on for miles around that puts me on edge.
First, it's Lauren's love/hate relationship with the pyrotechnics that are the Fourth of July. She also loves to watch the spectacular colors that they produce but at the same time is annoyed by the boom, boom, boom that resonates through the air. It's especially annoying to her when she is trying to go to sleep. I don't know how she can possibly hear it over the loud air cleaner in her room that drowns out just about every noise more than a few feet from her bedroom door....but she does. I imagine that she is just ultra-sensitive to the sound waves bouncing off the windows and outer walls of the house. That girl can hear the train that passes near our house coming from miles away, long before anyone else. She even notices airplanes waaayy up in the sky that no one else appears to hear or barely even see. Too bad it's not a psychic ability, or we would definitely be multi-time lottery winners.
However, Lauren's annoyance is not the worst of my problems.
Most of you with pets, especially dogs, have probably already guessed what I am about to say next. As I type this, Diogi (our adorable Bichon) is camped out at my feet, drooling excessively, watching the windows for Armageddon to happen outside. I lost count of the number of times I almost stepped on or tripped over him today as he clung to my legs in fear of that horrid boom, boom sound. I haven't been able to move an inch without him moving right along beside me. What bothers me most is, why? Why is he so afraid? We have never expressed fear towards them in front of him. In fact, we have always acted very nonchalant about he whole thing. He acts the same way during thunderstorms and we don't pay much attention to his paranoia then either.
Is it the same senstivity to what is going on in the atmosphere that Lauren experiences? Who knows. All I know is that this is not going to end today. The sounds of fireworks will be occuring for days to come, espcially since the holiday fell in the middle of week this year, we have a whole weekend ahead of us to enjoy, or not, the beautiful rockets red glare that are.....fireworks.
P.S. Lauren had just laid down to sleep minutes before I started typing this and I was honestly expecting to hear her get up numerous times, shouting "FIREWORKS! FIREWORKS!", and then stomping back to her room. However, she did not get up once, not ONCE !!
