Sorry Paula, I love fireworks, spent a hundred on them but I went to a place where tons of people all gather to light them, the local volunteer fire dept patrols and puts out fires, its a hoot for pyromaniacs.

We were there a bit when my daughter announced she had lost an earring, one of those expensive things of course, so we spent a lot of time looking through gravel - we have to get there really early to get "our" spot so we had time to kill, right? She gives up looking so I give up too, then later, after the first accidental fire (we hadn't started our toys yet so couldn't have been us!) we both noticed we were hunting again - my daughter suddenly gasps and "it's in my shirt!" (thank God, I really didn't want the event marred by the lost earring). Ok, so we enjoy the evening in part because of her improved mood having found her earring, light our toys, three fires later we are out of ammo and sit back to watch the rest of the show (man those people must spend a month's pay on some of them, its quite a show!). So... its time to go home, reach in my pocket for my keys and..... yup, not there. looking, trying to use firework light to search around the car, hadn't really hit me yet if we didn't find em how were we going to get home?

Smart daughter - had a copy of my car key on her key ring in her purse! Hallelujah! We searched a little more then just headed home, figuring worst case scenario, get new keys.

I know a certain someone would call the whole evening a bust because daughter lost her earring, then turn around and blame daughter for losing the earring and making every one look for it; then hog all the fireworks for himself and make us sit and tell him what a wonderful fuse lighter he was; then, oh heaven forbid - make the whole ride home (a whopping 15 miles) into a rant about me losing the keys and being irresponsible (have kept the same keys for over 7 years, hardly irresponsible); and after a tense horrid 15 miles ride home he woulda stalked into the bedroom and slammed the door - maybe secretly glad that I lost the keys because it gave him a bonafide reason to rant and be mad.

Jerry's thread about self-pity started me on this particular thought path - and I have to say, my current life hasn't much room for self-pity because I'm just so happily embracing how good my life is; no one yells, my bills are paid, I have money in the bank, no surprise letters from creditors, no crazy train to the insanity circus and no one yells at me anymore - but I said that already.

Five years ago today I married Mr. A; two years later he moved out for the last time, a year after that we were divorced and I've reclaimed two good Independence Days so far. I don't date, don't want to, my life is full of too many things I enjoy the freedom to do; I COULD wallow in self-pity - no body loves me, blah blah blah, but "I" love my freedom. When I do get the errant stinking thinking that brings on the lonelies I work to remember that lonely is better than the life I had for such a short while.