six small fires
jess is a writer i follow on instagram and look up to a lot. she recently published a piece i cant stop thinking about, telling the story of the time she and her husband TJ decided to install a wood burning stove into their home. the chimney installation man told her to nurture six small fires before she built a large one.
“you’ll get to that big blazing fire that warms your whole house, but not right away”
you should probably just read her piece to understand what i’m going to try to say — (no really go read it, it’s so good) — but i looked into the advice the chimney man gave jess. he was right. small fires build the foundation for the big hot ones.
the fires you don’t want, the ones you want to skip over, they will serve as coal and kindling for fires one you do want.
sometimes the small fires burn all in sight until all that remains is the ashes. like a phoenix, the choice is only to be come back stronger or not at all. life loves baptism by fire.
this morning’s snow was fluffy and stuck to my knockoff ugg boots. steam from my hot coffee danced with frozen air above my yeti cup of hot coffee. my taste buds whispered good morning to winter, happy new year. stella chased a frisbee into an explosion of white. my heart mourned for the grief around me in contrast with the blessings i felt.
i felt happy. humbled. warm. grateful. i thought about jess.
thank you, small fires.
for my stella
for my matt
for my health
for my coffee
for my love
for my friends
for my safety
for my education
for my body
for my happy family
for my warm home
for my job
for my car
thank you, thank you small little fires,
for the fire you have become now.
may this be the year we find the light.
