🎙️ S2 Ep. 26: Weigh-In Wednesday 💣 Why I Hate Fireworks (It's Not What You Think)

Welcome back to Organized Chaos: Season Two – Permission Granted!

This week, Shabana is making a confession...

She hates fireworks.

Well... fireworks in the hands of teenagers.

From childhood Fourth of July memories to raising teens of her own, Shabana shares why this holiday now comes with equal parts nostalgia, gratitude, and mom-level anxiety. She also shares simple reminders about summer safety, trusting your kids, and appreciating every moment together.

Sometimes growing up means realizing the things that once felt exciting now make your heart race for completely different reasons.

📖 3 Journal Prompts

1.  What are some of your favorite childhood summer memories? 
2.  Where in your life do you need to trust more instead of trying to control everything? 
3.  What simple habits can help you and your family stay safer this summer? 

💛 3 Mantras

• I choose joy while also choosing wisdom.

• I trust the people I love while encouraging safe choices.

• Every season of life invites me to lead with love, awareness, and gratitude.

Transcript

Speaker 0:03

Hey, friends. Welcome back to another episode of Organized Chaos, season two: Permission Granted. Here on Weigh-in-Wednesdays, I'm gonna talk about fireworks, and I'm just gonna say it, I hate fireworks. There, I said it. Well, I hate fireworks in the hands of teenagers. And what I mean by that is, in the hands of professionals, I think fireworks are amazing. They're beautiful. They're just such a beautiful display. But let's take it back a notch. Back in the day, when I was a teenager, um, when I was a teen in middle school and high school, Fourth of July was my favorite holiday. My friends and I would dress up, do our hair, do our makeup, and make sure we were wearing something from Old Navy, of course, red, white, and blue. And we would go to our friend's neighborhood, and they would always have all their doors open, and it would be, like, a barbecue, and we would go door to door eating all sorts of good foods, hanging out with our friends, socializing, h- um, petting people's dogs, and just walk around neighborhoods, and it would be so much fun. And then there would be a big Fourth of July parade with, like, loud fire trucks and marching bands and candy being thrown out. And then after the parade, we would hang out more at people's houses and more barbecues and stuff like that. And then we would go to the local high school by nine o'clock and find a spot and lay down- And just wait for the fireworks to start around 10:00 PM. And then after that, we would either go to a friend's house and spend the night, or I would go to my boyfriend's house and then be home by, like, midnight or 1:00. And so the Fourth of July has always been, like, such a special holiday for me, and always same traditions. Barbecues, fireworks, friends, all the things. And then when I started living here on the West Coast, um, they do Fourth of July very different around here, in my opinion. So David grew up with, um, you would just always blow up fireworks on the Fourth of July and not necessarily, like, go see a fireworks display. The fireworks displays around here are actually on the Third of July, at least that's been my experience with it. So the first Fourth of July I had here, I think Michael must have been a baby or whatever, and we went to his best friend's house, and they just blew stuff up. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, I hope nobody gets hurt." But they knew what they were doing, and nobody got hurt, and I was like, "Wow, that was really intense. Okay." And here on out, it's always been you buy a bunch of fireworks, and you blow them up on the Fourth of July, and that's just what we do here in the Pacific Northwest. Um, and it just is wild. Um, and then, so then of course we get in the tradition that we buy fireworks and our kids blow them up, and it makes me super nervous, but I am fine because David's here and I trust him and he's really good with fireworks and making sure he, like, teaches the kids, "Okay, this is what you do, and this is, you know, you have this bucket full of water, and the, and then when you're done, you put it in here." And, like, he's just really good with fireworks and being a pyro and teaching the kids, like, safety and stuff like that. And he's always been around the kids when they're doing fireworks. And if we go somewhere, he's there. So I just, I trust him a lot, and I'm always like, "Okay, be careful." And I'm always like, "Ahhh." Um, so this year the middle child got invited to go to a friend's house, and that made me nervous. But I was like, "Okay," like, you know, "Be careful," blah, blah, blah, blah, giving him my whole spiel. And, um Then I just, you know, gave him my typical spiel, spiel, "Go with a fully charged phone, call or text. Um, and, um, you know, I really desire that all of you come home tonight, like, don't drink, don't do drugs, don't do any gummies. Um, and just, like, have a lot of fun, drink all the soda you want, eat all the food you want, take a lot of pictures." And then we had agreed that he would be home by 11:00. And then he asked around, I don't know, around 10:00, if he could be home by 12:00, and we said yes, if he could get a ride home. And the mom agreed that the mom would give him a ride home at 12:00. And I said, "Okay, sounds good." I was like, "As long as you come say goodnight to me at 12:00." And so he comes in at 12:00, and comes up and says goodnight to me. And he goes, "So I almost, um, got hit by a firework tonight." I'm like, "Oh, great. What happened?" And then he told me that he had lit a firework, but it had accidentally fallen down or something, and it shot in the direction where they were, but they ended up being fine. And I was like, "Oh, I'm so glad you're fine," and, like, gave him a big hug. But prior to that, he comes into our bedroom and he goes He said a kid's name, somebody from the baseball team, got hit in the face with a firework, and of course I, like, freaked out. I'm like, "Oh my God, is he okay?" He's like, "I don't know. They just said that they're in the hospital, and we're waiting to hear, like, what happened or whatever." And so it turned out the kid is fine, and he's out of the hospital. And, um, we actually have a game tonight, so we'll actually, like, see the kid. But I think, I really think that everything is fine. It didn't, like, hit his eye or anything like that. It was just, like, I g- I don't know, like, his cheek or something like that, and it wasn't as bad as it seemed to be, of course. Um, but yeah, again, like, I hate fireworks in the hands of kids, and they make me super nervous and, like, anything can happen. At just this age is just like, "Ah." But, so anyway, I get it. Accidents happen. And, um, you just have to be super careful, and if your kids are gonna do fireworks, just there's only so much you can teach them, and then we're always just learning in life. So anyways, I'm glad that 4th of July is over, and I know before you know it, it's gonna be New Year's, and then there's more fireworks. Because literally, like, people here in Washington light fireworks any chance they get. Like, any holiday, people are lighting fireworks here. You will hear them for the Super Bowl, even if our team is not even in it. You'll hear it for, excuse me, uh, for, uh, like I said, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, uh, 4th of July. What else? I don't know, like, Halloween. Like, who knows? Like, people light fireworks all the time here. It's kinda just wild. Um, but anyway, so I hope you had a happy, healthy, safe 4th of July, whatever you were doing, um, fireworks or not. And yes, so be safe, have fun, enjoy all of your summer and all the activities that it brings. Also, stay safe on the water. That's the other thing. Um, wear the life jackets. Even if you're older, wear your life jacket, especially if you don't know how to swim and you're gonna be around water. Swallow the pride. Wear the life jacket. The other thing is, like, dehydration. Oh my goodness, people, just stay hydrated. Drop the energy drinks. Stay hydrated, or add, the electrolytes and stuff like that. Yeah, I have lots of thoughts on summer safety. Anyway,

Speaker 3 8:12

Okay, it is 10:37 on a Tuesday night. We are back from the baseball games. It was a double header, and we won both of the games, so that is super great, super exciting. And just to follow up, kinda irritated, kinda relieved, but the kid that got hit in the face with the firework, it was actually a prank. So we're all relieved, and the mom did say that the child needed to apologize to everybody in the chat and, like, tell his friends that it was a joke and to tell their parents that it was just a prank. Um, but, I mean, they're 15. Kids, kids are gonna be kids. But honestly, it was such a relief that it was a prank, um, and it was a good one. So yeah. So there we have it. And again, either way, this podcast turned out how it was supposed to turn out. And be safe and have fun, and everyone have a great summer. And yes, here we go. Happy July

Speaker 2 9:17

now, here are the takeaways. Childhood traditions often shape how we experience holidays as adults. As parents, we can't control everything, but we can prepare, teach, and trust. The best summer memories happen when everyone makes it home safely. Now, here are three journal prompts. What are some of your favorite childhood summer memories? Where in your life do you need to trust more instead of trying to control everything? What simple habits can help you and your family stay safe af- Oh my gosh. What simple habits can help you and your family stay safer this summer? Now, here are three mantras. I choose joy while also choosing wisdom. I trust the people I love while encouraging safe choices. Every season of life invites me to lead with love, awareness, and gratitude. I hope you loved this episode, and remember to book your energy in the show notes beloove, below. Okay, talk to you later. Hey, you. Yes, you. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. This episode is brought to you by My Energy Readings. Energy readings are one-on-one private Zoom sessions where I tap into your energy field and deliver exactly what your soul needs to hear. Scroll down to the bottom of my show notes to book your energy reading today, or just send me a DM. Can't wait to see you on Zoom. And until next time, know that you're amazing, know that I love you, and the world is gonna keep on spinning, so you need to keep on showing up and doing the things that light you up, because that's what we need more of, people who are lit up and shine their light wherever they go. So keep manifesting, keep believing, and I'll catch you on the flip side. Bye.