Splish splosh bang flash

Last night was our fireworks evening at Playcentre. The children and I got a fish and chip tea at the local takeaway, then ate it at Playcentre. Brendon joined us an hour or so later after dropping his mother off at the airport with his own supply of greasies. After tea, Aidan joyfully saw that the sandpit was not only open, but that it had been well and truly hosed. There was a large lake in the lower sandpit that did not appear to be draining. What fun! Aidan splashed around, sat down, fell over, lay on the wet sand, raked, dug, stood in the holes that were dug in an effort to drain the lake, and generally had a fantastic time. Unfortunately I had not packed a full change of clothes, just one nappy, one pair of trousers and a top. Soon he was utterly soaked from head to toe, and his gumboots were full to the brim with sandy water.

Once he had finished, I hosed him down inside (in a sink designed for this purpose) and dried him off. Thankfully he was warm enough in just the extra things I had for him.

Next came sparklers, and chocolate ice creams for the children. Then, the main event – fireworks! One of the Playcentre fathers lit the fireworks in the (drained and raked) sandpit, while the families watched from a safe distance. It was only 7.30, so still light, but the children didn’t seem to mind. We had lots of bangs, flashes, smoke and pops as the pyrotechnic display progressed. Aidan enjoyed it, but lost interest towards the end and went to play on the swings and chase a small friend of his. Isabelle sat quietly on my knee for the duration.

I am so sad that this may be the last fireworks show at our Playcentre. It seems inevitable that we will be protected from ourselves and be unable to buy fireworks at some date in the near future. But I really hope that this new baby will be able to feel the joy and wonder of their first sparkler, just like Aidan did last night.