I love the fourth of July. It's easily one of my favorite holidays, even as a kid it was a close second to Christmas and my birthday (which were naturally tied for first). It's a fantastic day in the middle of the summer filled with parades, barbeques and for us as kids, anything from sack races to carnival rides and of course lots and lots of fireworks. Even now as I type this I'm reminded of those sweet blissful childhood adventures on July 4th.
This year, however, is going to be relatively quiet. We're not going to Nebraska or South Dakota to celebrate with family and all the wonderful things I listed above. And while I have a grocery bag (or two) hidden in my room and full of unused fireworks ready to go, I won't even be able to enjoy them because of the tragically devastating fires. 
Trust me, if there's anyone who is bummed about a lack of pyrotechnics today, it's me. But it makes me sick to think that there are people praying they have a home to go to at the end of the day, every day for the nearly 3 weeks now, and people are complaining openly about not being able to light fireworks today. And this is only the Waldo Canyon fire in the pictures and video, there are about 10 others to worry about as well...
| Incident | Type | Unit | Status | Acres | Updated |
| Pine Ridge | Wildfire | Grand Junction Field Office | Active | 13920 | 07/04/12 |
| Little Sand | Wildfire | San Juan National Forest | Active | 24850 | 07/04/12 |
| Waldo Canyon | Wildfire | Pike and San Isabel National Forests | Active | 18247 | 07/04/12 |
| Weber | Wildfire | San Juan National Forest | Active | 10133 | 07/04/12 |
| High Park | Wildfire | Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests / Pawnee National Grassland | Active | 87284 | 07/04/12 |
| Treasure | Wildfire | Pike and San Isabel National Forests | Active | 420 | 07/02/12 |
Lightner |
Wildfire | San Juan Field Office | Active | 90 | 07/01/12 |
| Flagstaff | Wildfire | Colorado State Forest Service | Active | 300 | 06/30/12 |
| Springer | Wildfire | Pike and San Isabel National Forests | Active | 1145 | 06/24/12 |
Sunrise Mine |
Wildfire | Uncompahgre Field Office | Active | 5742 | 06/07/12 |
Hewlett Fire |
Wildfire | Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests / Pawnee National Grassland | Active | 7685 | 06/06/12 |
>>The information in this table was found here: http://www.inciweb.org/state/6/
I can't even imagine what it must be like to be told you're forced to evacuate your house because of a fire, and to grab the important things as fast as possible. I've thought about it a lot lately, but I still have no idea what I would grab... I know I would for sure get the quilt Lyla made me, the bear from my grandfather whose now deceased, and the bear that was my mom's as a child, the important papers I have in a portable chest, Oskar (my cat), my books and laptop, some clothes and maybe my keyboard and music if I could. But other than that...
It's something I try not to spend too much time dwelling on, but with everything that's happened this summer, I really can't help it. I wish I could give a huge donation to the Red Cross for everything they're doing. And I really wish I could make the people who are upset about the lack of fireworks ogling find that there are other things that matter so much more than what happens after dark today. The fourth of July is meant to be a day of celebration for the freedom we have and a sense of patriotism, but to me, today should be an early Thanksgiving.
Besides, fireworks can be easily replaced with the America's Funniest Home Videos marathon in your house, surrounded by the people you love. At least that's what I'm doing.
