Playing with Fire

What is it with boys and fire? Parker and his friends can't seem to resist. The only chore Parker actually likes to do is burn the cardboard boxes that we keep out of the trash. He frequently asks if he and his friends can build a fire. They are quite serious about it. They start with old newspaper, 55 matches, and a few leaves...then add small twigs and finally a bigger branch or two. Never are they content to sit and watch it burn...no! They must throw more things into it, one at a time. Perhaps they are budding scientists, conducting experiments on what will flame instantly, what will melt, and what will just produce noxious smelling smoke that drifts into my house. They put the ends of long sticks into it, then pull them out and wave them around, leaving a thin trail of smoke. Parker even tried to make a "smokestack" one day by putting one end of a cardboard wrapping paper tube in the fire and watching smoke puff out the other end. But alas, the tube just ended up burning away. I know this is a boy thing, because I had a girl first. And never, one time in 16 years, has she ever asked me if she and her friends could burn anything.
When we moved to this community, (and especially out of town and into the country) it was with the hopes that our family life would be simpler, more cohesive. And, for the most part, it has worked. We spend more time together, are more aware and a part of each other's lives than before. So even if I occasionally feel stifled here in this small town...if I can't have Starbucks every day, get to a book store in less than an hour, go to a play, or interact with people from diverse ethnic, educational, and cultural backgrounds, at least my kid gets to play with fire. This is one small consolation.