When Lisa announced that “light” was our next prompt LIGHT – Cloth in Common , I couldn’t stop hearing the Doors song from the late 1960s called Light My Fire (another earwig Deb) and I can’t wait to get share a new piece to be revealed at the end of March.

About a year ago I wrote a blog about my family compound we call Lapland https://clothincommon.com/lapland/ and mentioned our firepit where we gather each evening to share our day and maybe a marshmallow.

Sometimes there are only three of us, sometimes the whole clan. Sometimes we need umbrellas and sometimes a blanket or two. Sometimes we have music but often we listen to the immense quiet of the evening.

We share wisdom and family history and sage advice. We reminisce about the past and boldly plan the future. We laugh at family stories that never get old and shed tears when times are tough. The children roast a hotdog or they run around and play tag and climb trees as the sun sets.  The dogs curl up at our feet or they claim their own chair.

Our neighbors await the telltale smell of the wood fire – an open invitation to sit a spell and catch up on the neighborhood news.

Then one by one folks drift back to their homes. It’s just the two of us. The roaring flames turn to embers, the sky is dark and we hear the quiet of the night. This is my favorite time, close to the fire, listening to the last crackles of oak and pine and poplar, staring into the light.