Welcome Back Bonfire

The Hogmanay bonfire celebration at the Brearley House has been a Lawrenceville tradition since 1997. Except during COVID years, when it didn't happen. We went in 2013 as a family. Again in 2016. And again in 2017. In 2018 as a couple.

Traditionally the bonfire is a chance to throw your grievances from the year into the flames and literally send them up in a puff of smoke. As I went to this year's bonfire on a misty / foggy night I realized I don't have any grievances with the year. Maybe my expectations for life have lowered to a state of complacency. Or maybe I'm realizing life is pretty good.

I looked over my resolutions for the past few years and realize, though some took longer than a year, I have accomplished much of what was on the list. Last month I became a notary public. Last week my endocrinologist declared my diabetes under control and she wants to see me less often and isn't worry about my blood sugar (though she does want me to go for a thyroid ultrasound to confirm Hashimoto's Disease). This year not only did Ashley and I go on a long-promised trip (though to New Orleans instead of Paris), Don and I went to Barcelona (a city neither of us had ever been to before) and we applied for Global Entry with the anticipation of more traveling.

Only one family member died this year -- Aunt Elva a week before her 106th birthday. Two family babies were born (a great-niece and great-nephew). 

Ashley seems to be a good place with school and friends (as I type this she is in the other room with two friends from college and two friends from high school all laughing and getting along as if they have known each other forever). 

We don't seem to be moving, but maybe we will. 

Who knows.

Let me return to the bonfire. 

When we arrived, only about a dozen people were standing around staring at the tarp on top of the pile of wood. We only saw two other cars in the parking lot -- later learned we were supposed to park someplace different. Even at the peak, there were between 100 and 120 people -- stretching around the perimeter everyone had an against the rope spot with many gaps. As it was not windy, the smoke went straight up, and not in anyone's faces.

At 6 pm the rain paused. The tarp was taken off the wood. The speeches began. By 6:10 when they lit the bonfire, the air shifted from dense fog to light rain. This year they announced no rain date, so I suspect they were trying extra hard to make sure it happened this year after not happening in 2020 and 2021.

Forty-five minutes into the blaze the fire marshal deemed it safe enough to go under the ropes and get closer to the fire. For the first time that night we felt the heat. The closer we got to the flames, the less we felt the rain as the drops evaporated in the hot, dry air. 

In 2015 the pile used to be about 10 feet tall. The following year the fire marshal capped the size at  5 feet x 5 feet x 5 feet. Also in 2015, they could not get it to catch on fire. In 2016 Boy Scout troop 28 offered to take over making and guarding the bonfire (with the fire department on site). It has gone better.

Time to light the fire!

Some year's we've been late and the fire has burnt out before we arrived. This year we arrived a few minutes early, and it burned for the full two hours. When we left it was still burning. Yes, between the fog and the rain, the air was much wetter. The wood, though covered under a blue tarp, was probably damp. But the biggest shift is under the guidance of the Boy Scouts, they started the fire at the top and watched it burn down. In the past, they lit it from the bottom and everything caught fire much faster -- some years so rapidly it seemed frightening.

Another change was they stacked piles of wood instead of pallets. The logs are denser and take longer to burn.

Before sharing photos, a quick list of friends we bumped into: "Einstein," Pastor Kyle, Boy Scout leader Michael, and Angela. (I've stopped sharing last names so friends who want to remain private, can't be found through this blog.)

Pictures:

Walking back to the car in the rain, on the new path covered in straw. When we made this walk on New Years Eve 2019, this area was woods and there were no townhouses. Life changes.

 

Happy 2023! May it be a good year for all.