Burning

Jason admitted to me very early in our relationship that he is a bit of a pyromaniac. I thought that strange since I like fire just as much as he does and so do all of my siblings and at least two of my cousins. I figured it must be normal.

When we camp, whatever the weather, we make a fire. We justify this fire by cooking all of our meals over it. Since everyone knows it rains every time we camp, you can get a sense of how much we like a fire.

We are really comfortable with the children around fire, as well. There are occasional sillies that must be squelched, as physical foolishness does not belong around any fire, not even the little burner on the stove. Still, the children really enjoy fires, and for the most part, they are properly respectful of the awesome power of fire.

We have gotten to have many, many fires since we moved. I've made a fire ring. It was really quite easy; I just made a really big fire and then put cement trash around the edge of the burned place. We have burned a variety of construction debris and all the burnable trash from the barn, basement, house and garage. We also burn our paper trash. We have had many very nice bonfires and a few that we kept the children away from for fear of noxious fumes.

Everyone has learned new fire etiquette:
1. Get your own box of matches because Mama and Daddy are using these.
2. Keep a shovel handy as it is the only thing long enough to poke a really hot fire.
3. Get another shovel because Mama and Daddy are using this one.
4. Wear boots if you want to walk inside the fire ring because there are nails.
5. Pretty flames mean avoid the smoke more carefully.
6. Tell the person opposite you before you throw something in.
7. Watch for flying sticks that overshoot the fire.

I figure everyone is getting to indulge an interest in fire, so maybe no one will need to experiment outside of the fire ring. The fire ring is less fragile than the bathroom sink we experimented in as children.