Braving the Fireworks, Greatness Starts @Home

When I was a kid, I was in bed with cotton balls inside my ears every New Year's Eve. I just hated the loud bang of fireworks so much that I would rather miss the festivities than subject myself to the stressful noise and smoke. And because of this intense fear of fireworks, I usually suffered from anxiety during the holiday season. My Mom had to bring me several times to the doctor due to a fever that would miraculously go away after New Year's Eve.

As an adult, I no longer fear fireworks so much. But I still refuse to watch it up close. I can bear the loud noise it brings but I just could not stand watching it explode in action. It still makes my toes cringe.

I just recently watched the 3rd Philippine International PyroMusical Competition and I'm proud to say that at the age of 33, I finally braved my fear of fireworks.

But this is not my story. This is the story of my two-year-old son and his greatest moment of achievement.

It all started at home. My son, Neo, had always been fascinated with candles. In fact, when he was one, he would refuse to eat a cupcake if we do not put a candle on top of it for him to blow.

And even though he's always unsuccessful with the task, it didn't impede him from trying harder and harder each time. He finally did it on his 2nd birthday. It took him several tries but after we coached him to blow the candle with more power, he finally put out the first of the many birthday candles in his lifetime.

I was so proud of my little boy that day. Especially, when my Mom told me that I wasn't able to blow my birthday candles until I was 4.

But that was not all. In a few weeks, he graduated from birthday candles to holding his very first Roman candle on New Year's Eve.

Amazing indeed! He made the two-year-old me look like a real underachiever.:)

That same night, I realized how much the fireworks truly amaze him. He saw color and energy where I saw smoke and fear. At 2, he was able to appreciate the beauty that I failed to see all these years.

Through his tiny sparkling eyes, I finally saw the magic that makes New Year's Eve alive. For the first time, I finally looked up in the sky and watched the bursting fireworks with a smile. Gone are the noise and anxiety and in its place was the realization of unfounded fears and every single New Year's Eve that I missed. 

I always value my bonding time at home with my son. It's where I find my greatest fulfillment as a mother. Educating him at home gives me the opportunity to show him the simple life, free from the complexities of the world outside. Who would have thought that my son, at his very young age, would be able to teach me a thing or two and maybe more in the years to come?:)

Neo gave me the courage to face my fears and freed me from a lifetime of gloomy New Year's Eve. And for that, I will always consider this, one of my little boy's greatest moments of achievement.:)