I remember it clearly -- I was five or six years old and my dad set a couple of child-sized chairs at the top of the driveway. He then proceeded to set off fireworks on the sidewalk while my brothers and I watched. I was terrified. Then it got worse. I spent the entire night hiding under my bedclothes convinced that each boom I heard signaled the explosion that would burn our house to the ground with us in it.

Since then, of course, I've come to love fireworks, from the littlest sparklers to the big professional displays. My son, however, has a real problem with loud noises. So this New Year's Eve, we're going to stay well indoors where, hopefully, the noise will be muffled enough to be drowned out by a bit of festive music.

We'll probably head over to my in-laws so the kids will be further distracted by playing with Pa John and won't notice the explosions coming from the beach and downtown. Even better would be if they simply fell asleep before the festivities got fully underway. And we won't be lighting any fireworks in the driveway, that's for sure.