When I get home after a stressful day, there are lots of items in which I might indulge – television, Cadbury Mini Eggs, diet Cokes, Starburst jelly beans, nachos, Harry Potter novels.
Most of these are not great for my overall health or well-being.
However, I do have at least one healthy, non-harmful task that I crave on stressful days. It’s productive, simple, and meaningful, and I find that I can motivate to complete this task even when I’m pissed at the world, everyone in it, and myself – building a fire.
I didn’t learn to make a fire until I was 25 years old. Up until then, I’d had limited exposure to the great outdoors and the wonders of rustic living.
Ever since I learned how to make a fire, it’s been a great enjoyment for me. For several years, we lived in a house without a wood stove for heat, and that sucked. Our new lovely little farmhouse comes with a wonderful little wood stove, and every day when I get home, I sit cross-legged in the front of the stove and build a roaring, beautiful, warming, magical fire.
This task is productive. It’s tactile. It’s manageable, even when it feels difficult to put one foot in front of the other.
I am giddy with joy that the weather’s been warming up and that spring is coming. But I do feel a twinge of sadness that I haven’t needed to make a fire the past few days when I’ve walked in the side door of our lovely little farmhouse. Instead, I will warm up by looking at this adorable Sophie Corrigan drawing I found on Facebook yesterday:
