Not so much, according to our youngest daughter, Patty.
Maybe it was the fact that she was born the day before the 4th of the July. She heard the beeps in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), having sucked in some amniotic fluid on her way into the world. The next night I remember laying in my hospital bed without my baby (she was in the NICU), listening to the fireworks as they exploded over the lake near the hospital. Maybe that was it.
Probably not. But there is no denying the fact that Patty hates fireworks. Always has. Or anything that screams, booms, explodes, or buzzes loudly. We took her and her siblings to see the fireworks near her first birthday. She screamed. Ralph took her to the car and shut the windows. We tried ear plugs, ear phones, etc. A few times, we parked so far away that she couldn’t hear the fireworks. That was tolerable, barely. Parades were no fun, either. Fire trucks are loud, close up. So are semi truck horns. Candy does improve things, but not much.
For a child born the day before the 4th of July, the celebration is painful. Her sensitive hearing makes it miserable.
The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love the fireworks, the parades. But Patty stays home. She sleeps downstairs near the holiday (the neighborhood fireworks whiz and pop right outside her upstairs windows).
How about you. Do you have any holidays that make you run for cover?
annkilter 
Valentine’s Day…New Year’s Eve…all the holidays where expectations are always high…I opt for family instead…
That is a good strategy. Avoid the fantasy, enjoy the real.
I don’t really like the noise on the 4th either. I used to carry ear plugs around with me everywhere I went and on times like the 4th I’d wear them pretty much all night. As much as I hate the feeling of ear plugs, I hate the noise more.
My daughter feels the same. The noise is irritating to her. She basically hides out. We are going to my brother’s for the holiday…and my brother has volunteered to stay home with all the noise avoiders.
That’s nice of him. Hope it’s a fun holiday for everyone 🙂
I was born on November 5th, which is Bonfire Night here in the UK–when I moved here and realized there are bonfires and fireworks on my birthday, I was thrilled! (I was also barely 19, and a young 19, in many ways; I was just as excited as I would have been as a kid, I think, to have my birthday “celebrated” by everyone.)
Then, my kids were born. Apparently the fear of loud noises is something everyone is born with (that, and fear of heights/falling) and my 2, with their added sensitivity… there is no way we could take them to a bonfire, with a fireworks display after. We do occasionally drive round the countryside, though, and watch distant displays that way. From far enough away, they love the show.
As for me, the only holiday that gives me the heebie-jeebies is Easter. I was raised by fundies, deep in the Bible Belt, and I can’t say “Easter Bunny” without a graphic mental image of a half-naked, emaciated Christ, thorn-crowned head trickling blood, flashing behind my eyes.
–AmandaQuirky
We’ve tried the parking far away, too. It sort of worked.
I really hate. hate. hate. being invited to go into a large noisy room with a large group of people I barely know and being encouraged to socialize. I would rather go home and read a book…sometimes I have done that.
I hated fireworks when I was a little kid too. My parents would take me to shows, and I’d hold my ears and cry the whole time. Good news is I guess I grew out of it. So maybe Patty will too!
She did end up going with us. Her uncle had a set of noise cancelling headphones. So we all enjoyed the fireworks.
We are so lucky, the kids can’t hear them from their rooms! Sounds like you found a solution for everyone!