Make Memories Around Family Fire Pit
Fire has been an important tool for man to use, from cooking food to keeping warm when the winter months arrived. Stories were spun here, games played and songs sung as families and friends bonded by the fire while shutting the cold dark night out. Even in modern times, so many of the very best childhood memories are centered around the friendly glow of a toasty outdoor fire pit.
I remember how every autumn, my dad would fashion a pit on the ground and then gather branches and twigs to build a fire. He would take his time starting the fire, making sure that the embers were properly fueled in order to start the fire and keep us warm. My mother would take a lot of pictures of the event as the fire roared, and we would share stories and recount experiences. As a young adult, I carried on this tradition with my husband and children on a very special vacation in the mountains. The summer evenings were crisp in the mountains, giving us the perfect opportunity to build our own fire pit out on the deck. We enjoyed watching the children make a sticky mess of their faces while melting chocolate bars and marshmallows for s’mores. We ate the delicious treats as we all stayed close to the satisfying warmth of the fire as we looked into the darkness of the beautiful mountain scene.
I remember the spontaneous pretend camping trip my husband and I took with our four year old son in our own backyard. It all started when my son cam in one day and had decided that he wanted to go camping that day. We played along, and my husband fashioned a make-shift fire pit in a cement planter. My son was so helpful when he was bringing in the sticks that would help sustain the fire. We spent that evening sitting by the fire in camp chairs, roasting marshmallows and telling stories under the stars. It stands out in my mind as one of the most special times we have spent together.
The simple truth is that the warmth of a fire brings people together in a unique way that no scheduled event can equal. These are the memories which will last a lifetime.
