The New Year's Bonfire Complete

I cooked. Almost all day I cooked, thinking I didn't have enough food prepared. What was I thinking? There was so much that we added a leaf to the table and even then it was full of all good things--turkey, ham, baked beans, potato salad, pasta salad, rolls, cheese balls of several varieties, crackers, pickles, desserts, and more.

I cleaned. The house looked beautiful and I forgot to take photos! The table was beautiful and did I take a picture? Of course not.

I napped. Or tried to, knowing it would be early morning hours before we slept again.

And then our guests began arriving. We talked, sipped wine and beer and ate and at 8pm Larry lit the fire.

It was glorious, a fully-loaded pyre that sent flames 20 feet or more into the crystal cold night air. There was no wind, and a high pressure system sent the smoke and ash straight up so for the first time in my memory we were not dodging the shifting smoke.

Our gathering was not so large this year, but the spirits of the group more than made up for it. I think we had about 20 people all together, and I had food enough for three times that amount--not that I overdid it or anything, but I won't be cooking much in the coming week...or maybe month.

Close to midnight Hannah brought out the basket of troubles and I checked my emails one last time to be sure we'd gotten all the messages. One by one the messages were hurled to the flames.

James had quite a few he wanted to burn, and he was happy to toss the emailed ones too.

Bits of paper smoldered and then ignited, almost instantly turning to ash. It's hard to describe the feeling that comes with seeing the challenges of so many people turning flare and disappear into the flames.

Does it really work? James wanted to know. He was very serious; even at 7 years old he had several things he wanted to burn. His question is not easy to answer, especially to a child who is still in the concrete phase of mental development.

"You wrote it down, and you burned it," I told him, "so for now your problem is gone. It may come back, but you may be able to stop that from happening by what you do." He thought about that for a while. I'm not sure he understood completely, but the explanation also helped me understand why we perform this annual ritual. Burning the problems erases them for the time being. For a little while, I have control over the forces in my life. There is power in that thought.

To all of you who sent messages, please know that your emails have been well and truly burned, each with a thought and a prayer behind it that your year will be restful, peaceful, joyful and love-filled.