Growing Up
On our weekend camping trip, Peter told Soren that he was getting big enough to contribute to the chores around the campsite. One of the manly duties he needed to learn was fire building.
I can't even begin to describe how it warmed my heart to hear Daddy giving his son instruction on all the details of building a fire. Gathering the twigs, dried moss and other items for kindling. How to know whether the sticks were dry enough to burn easily. How to stack the wood. How to blow on it to get the fire going.
And then once the fire was going, there is all the tending that it takes to keep the logs going. I will admit that about 80% of the time I was certain we were on the verge of an imminent burn injury. Five year olds aren't exactly known for their attention to detail and focused attention span. But no one got hurt, Soren felt proud of himself, and I got a perfect s'more roasting fire.
I can't even begin to describe how it warmed my heart to hear Daddy giving his son instruction on all the details of building a fire. Gathering the twigs, dried moss and other items for kindling. How to know whether the sticks were dry enough to burn easily. How to stack the wood. How to blow on it to get the fire going.
And then once the fire was going, there is all the tending that it takes to keep the logs going. I will admit that about 80% of the time I was certain we were on the verge of an imminent burn injury. Five year olds aren't exactly known for their attention to detail and focused attention span. But no one got hurt, Soren felt proud of himself, and I got a perfect s'more roasting fire.
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