Kentucky Fried Chicken and fireworks- as a child, no other combination of two things was as exciting to me as this. When my parents talked about chicken and fireworks, that meant that the Fourth of July was coming up, and that was when my mothers' side of the family had their family reunion each year. It was always held at my Mamaw's house, because their was so much to do, and the house itself was colossal. She also had a swimming pool, and that's where all of the children would go while the parents went inside and talked (or argued) about family matters.
             Regardless of what was going on with the grown-ups, the children loved this holiday more than any other, because it was a day of playtime with fifteen or twenty of their closest friends! We would play swimming pool games, such as seeing who could make the biggest splash off of the diving board or an hour-long game of Marco Polo; it was more fun than any kid could ever dream of!
             The best part of the day was the fireworks. We would all sit on the driveway, each child waving a brightly-colored sparkler, watching the men (including my father) light enormous fireworks, and on some occasions, lighting themselves as well. Everyone would stay until the last firework, the largest of them all, was fired. Then we would all say our goodbyes, secretly wishing that the night wasn't over and that we could keep playing.
             In many ways, this yearly trip was a representation of my nuclear family. The tremendous delight I felt before the trip to my Mamaws is much like that which I feel in my home everyday. I have a wonderful set of parents, and my brother, sister and I are all very close. My family can sit down and talk about things that many families can't or wouldn't talk about, just because of the relationships we have with each other. My brother and I have stayed up until 2:00 in the morning on many occasions talking about ev
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