I have always lacked confidence in my fire starting abilities. It probably has something to do with the fact that there has always been a man around that wants to start it for me or sees the piles of newspaper and half charred sticks and quickly takes over.
Well I am here at the beach by myself and last night was cold enough to need a fire. My first attempt failed miserably and I blame it on wet wood. So I started over, carefully placing the wood so it would get enough oxygen, enough newspaper and some matches. It started just fine, but the real test is if it will last. The thing I don't like about woodburning stoves is they work best when you have the doors closed, I have no way of seeing what the fire is doing or even if it is going. I have to rely on the heat I feel and the consistent pitch of the whistle.
My point is, you have to close the doors. You have to start something and then let go of control and hope it does what it was designed to do. Control is never easy for me to let go of, I like knowing how things work and how they will end up working. So this simple fire is yet another reminder in my life that I can only do so much, that at some point I have to close the doors and hope that what is happening on the other side will sustain me and keep me warm.
2 comments:
mmm... girl, you are wise. that is all i have to say.
how did i not know you had a blog?
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