It's almost New Year's Eve and firework is something that goes hand in hand with New Year's Eve. Many people buy firework here in the Netherlands or outside in Belgium illegally. You will hear firework on the streets even days before Christmas, some sound like bombs and my kids wake up feeling scared. Then I have to calm them down telling them that it is firework and that is something people do for fun. Sometimes I wonder how kids feel when they are living in a war zone...

When I was young

My father was a real firework fanatic when we were very young. He bought the best bu beautiful firework ever and me and my older sister were enjoying looking at the firework. I still remember the spinning firework that my father hung on the wall.

Being deaf for a moment

One day when I was eight I was walking to school and then there was a boy the same age like me with firework in his hands. He was walking next to me and held the firework next to my left ear. The firework made a very hard sounds and suddenly I couldn't hear anything anymore. At school I went to the teacher and told her what happened. I was shocked I couldn't hear myself and scared at the same time because I couldn't hear the teacher. The teacher called my parents having only my home phone number. Nobody picked up. Half hour later I suddenly could hear again. I was so happy! The teacher asked me if the boy is a student of our school and I told her that I have never seen this boy before. When I could hear again, I wanted to go home, but my teacher told me to go to the doctor first to check my hearing.

Hearing tests at the hospital

So I went to the hospital alone and the doctor asked me why I am alone without my mom or dad. I told her, I don't know, my father is working right now. I had some hearing tests and she said my hearing of my left ear isn't that good enough and I still had to come back couple of times for more tests until my hearing is close to 100%. After couple of times my hearing test was very close to normal again, but she said that my hearing of my right ear is still better than my left. The times I went to the hospital I was always going alone.

Reasons I don't like firework

Besides that I had bad experience I don't like firework for another couple of reasons.

Firework accidents

Well, here you see pictures of two boys who played with firework and now regretting it. There are worser pictures online but I am not sure if you have a strong stomach. The first picture is a boy who played with Cobra 6. Look how he looked before, a pretty boy right? What's left of him? It's really sad that teenagers can be so stupid. I always wonder why many boys especially teenage boys are so stupid. Is it to be cool? To be part of a popular group? Following daddy's steps? I still don't understand it. I just hope my kids will never become stupid like these two boys and choose their friends wisely.

This dog was injured because he ate firework from the ground. It's so sad and so unnecessary. Poor dog!

Dirty streets

This is how the streets look like after New Year's Eve. Looks stunning right? This is how we start our new year. If I look at this picture I just see money everywhere wasted on the streets. People also don't remove the mess they make.

Fire - works

Did you hear the news of the firework accident in Cuba? There was a festival with firework during Christmas Eve.

How beautiful firework can look in the dark, it is still fire in my eyes. Fire should only be used for cooking and heating in the cold days, only when it is necessarily. Fire shouldn't be used for fun. Many people die from fire or firework. Its like candles. Candles are beautiful and can smell so good. But for me, firework and candles are very scary and I don't want to come close to these two. I have candles at home that smell nice but I never light them on because of the fire.

Burning money

To me, buying firework and eventually setting it up is wasted, burned money. There are firework fanatics who are willing to spent hundreds or even thousands of euros for firework. The person will set up the firework and it takes only a few seconds to enjoy the beautiful colours in the dark and then its over....Wow!

Why don't we just make a firework animation and look at it with our family, maybe with a projector and repeat it over and over again? Its free and safe for all of us. You hear so many terrible news during these days. People loosing their fingers, hands, arms, getting blind, face being mutilated. Is it really worth it? Its not only the people who set up the firework who can get injured but also many innocent people on the streets walking. Some sick people put firework in trash bins to let it explode and there are sick people who put firework in other people's letter box. Usually we visit my father with New Year's Eve because my father's birthday is 1 January so we celebrate his birthday at 12 pm. We don't go to my father anymore during New Year's Eve because of the firework everywhere. It's also very dangerous with kids you know. we just visit him every 1st of January. Call me boring, but I rather be boring than being a victim of fire(work). What would you do with €100 right now? Buy firework?

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