Saturday, and Kristin's away at the coast for the weekend. I've got the kids to myself.
A friend comes over. "Maddy, can we light a fire? Felix wants to do some blacksmithing." "Um… well… okay. Gather up some wood, and I'll come light it when you're ready."
Gather pliers, vice grips, a couple of hammers and an old piece of rebar. Cut up the old bench that broke last summer. A twist of newspaper, pile twigs on top – make sure they're dry. The sun's shining. "Let's start it with a magnifying glass."
Bright spot of light, curl of smoke, blow, gently, gently… More smoke, then flame – less than two minutes! "Don't ever let me catch you doing this unsupervised!" "Of course not. Can we have marshmallows?"
Sunday. "Maddy, can we light a fire?" "Um, I don't know. Let me think about it while I finish up here." "No! I want a yes or no answer now!" "Okay. No." "I'll let you think about it…"
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