Backyard Bonfire Bros

Though still rather warm for late October, it was cool enough to finally fire up the backyard bonfire with the boys. It was the 7 year old’s idea to do hotdogs and to call us the Backyard Bonfire Bros since Mama was away. It was the 3 year old’s first time that he was actually conscious of, so he had a blast. He kept gasping and saying “This is amazing!” and calling the sparks “sprinkles”. He was also a very enthusiastic fire poker and dumper of fallen pine needles for kindling. After covering the basics of fire safety (most of which the 7 y.o. learned from The Boxcar Children), I tried to tap into the more meditative aspect of the experience, pointing out the embers and talking about just how ancient and human the bonfire ritual is. I don’t know if any of that stuck, but they’re stoked to do it again so I guess that was enough.