Fireworks

Frequently on my own blog I remark that temperament is everything; it seems that no amount of parenting (whether arguing, pleading, or trickery) can change someone's fundamental personality traits.

This was proven to us yesterday as we set off fireworks ("safe and sane," of course!) at my parents' house. Erica was there with Jesse, as were my two kids, and the three cousins showed different reactions to the fireworks.

Some of my readers might know Gary, Jesse's father, and his enthusiasm for fireworks. For many years he has brought "unsafe and insane" fireworks to our Independence Day celebrations, and although he couldn't be with us last night, he did contribute a brick of my mother's favorite firework, ground flowers.

Erica was eager to show Jesse his first fireworks. When she handed me her phone and asked me to take a short video of Jesse watching them, none of us were sure how the four-month-old would react to the lights, noise, and smoke. We hoped to catch some kind of fleeting positive reaction on his face, but I ended up easily taking four or five videos, because it turned out that Jesse loved the ground flowers. He watched them raptly, and every time one ended he got a huge smile on his face.

Meanwhile my own children were cowering in the house, daring only to watch the fireworks from the safety of a window.

Isaac has a near-phobia of fire, but Laurel was only frightened because of Isaac's extreme anxiety; she doesn't like loud noises, but usually she doesn't mind stuff like fireworks. And after my kids observed from a distance for a while, they both got comfortable with the situation and came out to join in the fun, which is completely typical for Isaac's temperament. They both waved sparklers, watched ground flowers and fountains, and didn't want it to end.