Cue the Fireworks

July is synonymous with fireworks around the Zanders homestead. While many public shows are being canceled this year, I’m very fortunate. Pennsylvania recently relaxed the rules on what fireworks can be legally bought and set off, which means each year more locals have been foregoing the long drives and crowds and doing their own displays. For me, that means I can stay home and watch multiple displays along the ridges that surround my place.

It turned out to be a great evening. The weather was perfect – hot but not too humid with a nice breeze. We cooked out over an open fire beneath the full moon. Lightning bugs were out in force, hovering above the grass like some kind of moving, blinking blanket, and brilliant displays of light and sound filled the sky for about 90 minutes.

It was so nice, in fact, that I might create a similar scene in my WIP. As an author, I often include some of the best parts of daily life (past and present) in my books. If Pine Ridge, Birch Falls, Covendale, and Sumneyville seem real to you, that’s because in many ways, they are.

Is my life perfect? No, not a by a long shot. That’s exactly why I think it’s so important to appreciate the things that make us smile when we can. And, by incorporating them into my books, I can pull them out whenever I need them to enjoy again and again.

Here’s to celebrating as many of life’s simple, perfect pleasures as we can!

~ Abbie