We are tired

The flames licked the air with their delicate dance moves atop a bed of vibrating moves all consuming all that came into contact. The fascination with the campfire seemed obvious as I stared into it long into the dark night. Why? What is the fascination with a simple little campfire? A fire started for the purpose of burning dead twigs and branches left lying in the yard from winter's blast. Yet, that fire held my attention and as I gazed into it there was no thought or wisdom flowing from my head, only the comfort of he warmth provided by the fire and my loved one sitting next to me. No words were spoken, no actions taken we just rested in the cool of the evening by the fire.

It wasn't the fire that was fascinating it was the rest that was needed. We were tired. The undulating coals and dancing flames provided a restful hypnosis for us. We sipped a cup of cocoa and watched.

It was the end of the school year, he had finished closing the books and storing the teaching tools, I had finished classes. The deadlines had been met and passed, the work complete. The stress relieved. We were tired.

As night fell the symphonie of the night music began with the crickets, the owls, the frogs and occasionally the dogs. We listened to the music of the quiet. The time passed by and still we sat gazing into the fire, occasionally adding another stick or log. We were tired.

We've grown old and don't remember when we did. It's the body that grows old, the mind grows young. It learns and incorporates its knowledge, it grows better, the body grows weaker. Our minds needed to see, our bodies needed to rest, we were tired.

The sounds of children long has past, but the duty of work continues on and neither of these things would we change. It is the quiet of being together without words or deeds but basking in the presence of the other that comforts and warms. It is the knowledge that although we are no longer young firm and beautiful we are more in love today than yesterday. This time by the fire is not just sitting and staring, it is foreplay for the moment we lean into each other and say, "I love you." It is the moment that we look at each other and smile becasue we know we are no longer tired.