Go Gather Some Firewood
“Go gather some firewood”
I walk into the nearby woods, crunching leaves under my feet
Looking for sticks
All sizes
Little ones will burn fast and are easy to carry
Medium sized ones will keep the fire going,
They are fun to spin around like a baton
With coals on the end, we make our own fire show
Large ones, heavy , so I drag with two hands, making a path in the leaves
The dusk is upon us, and our pile of sticks has grown
We build the fire, squatting, I make a tent like structure
crumble newspaper and light it up
Soon the darkness comes, along with cooler air.
No matter that it is July.
It’s cool.
I find a sweatshirt to put on, and long pants
Back outside, I’m so excited to sit on a log and watch the fire burn
It makes me feel so accomplished
Morning in the creek with cold water, and rocks
Afternoon in the little graveyard
Or a walk to the larger creek.
No agenda
“Let's walk to the bridge.”
Just to see what we can see.
To smell the dirt road, and see the trees
In every season
With green leaves, with colorful ones, or with none at all
“Lets walk to the bridge.”
Along the way, we pick up sticks.
Or stop at the little white church, where the door is always open
We imagine what happens inside, when people are there
I do cartwheels down the aisle, because it is a nice wood floor
We take turns giving speeches at the podium
When we tire of this activity
We continue on the journey
“To the bridge”
We pass by
The Three Bears house
And look for the bear tracks
“None this time.” I say
We get to the bridge
And throw sticks in to watch them go under one side
And come out the other
We go to the water’s edge and look at the rocks
Someone throws a big rock in, to watch it splash
We get wet, and we squeal, not because we are surprised,
But because the water is so cold.
I start wading in, just to see how long I can stand it
I feel my tennis shoes fill with water
My toes start to go numb but I walk halfway across the creek
It gets deep, almost up to my knees
“I’m going across.” For no other reason than just to see if I can do it.
A self-challenge
Others join me.
We get to the other side, wet and cold
We sit on the bank in the sun
And watch the water sparkle
The colorful rocks at the edge and the patch of silt call to me
I get a small stick and write my name in the sand
I want to leave a part of me there, beside the rocks and the clear water
But the sun is starting to set
And I feel a hunger pain
And a cool breeze comes down the mountain
Telling us it's time to head back
Back to the cabin to eat something tasty that my mom has been cooking
Beef stew, or fried trout my father has caught with Pepa
The food tastes so good.
And the table, so long and shiny, gives me a feeling of home that I don’t feel anywhere else
“Go gather some firewood”
We head outside for the closing event of the day
Thank you Dad
For these memories
For giving us a piece of mother earth
And joy and peace
That I carry with me today
And always.
