We have a tradition in my house. It is called the Memory Jar. Inside of the clear Bormioli jar are thin slips of white computer paper. Every time something happens in our family that we want to remember we write it down and throw it in the jar. Sometimes it is something sweet that our kids said to each other. Sometimes it is a monumental moment that we probably wouldn’t forget anytime soon. More often than not though, it is a memory that makes us belly laugh. You know, the kind of laugh that makes you catch your breath and wipe your tears because it is so funny? My home is full of these moments. We are always laughing, and I know that sounds super cliche, but it is true! My husband and I don’t take much too seriously and our kids are just as silly as we are. Every New Year’s Eve, my husband and I sit down together after the kids have gone to bed and we take turns reading them out loud.
The sky was crystal clear bright blue and the temperature was a perfect 80 degrees. There was a breeze and the vivid green trees were swaying. A perfect day for grilling!
I grill a lot in the summertime, anything not to add heat to my house. Up here in New England, it is uncommon for houses to have a cooling system and my house is not an exception to that! Our propane grill is on its last leg, but we decided we were going to use it until it doesn’t work anymore, run it into the ground…so to speak. Well, the igniter recently stopped working, but the grill was still usable! The grill just needed a manual light. This would be fairly simple if we owned a grill lighter, which we didn’t. My husband had just used the grill a few days beforehand, so I knew it was possible! I gave him a call on his work number and asked how he started the grill the other day. He told me that he lit a piece of long cardboard on fire and then very gently placed it near the propane. Sounds super safe right? Do you see where this story is headed? Hindsight is 20/20 ya’ll!
Ok, I could do that. I took a regular lighter and a long piece of cardboard outside to the grill. All of my children were inside the house. I turned on the propane. Then I took the piece of cardboard and tried to light it. No luck. Tried again. Wouldn’t stay lit! It was windy, remember? Tried again. Finally! Then I slowly start to move the cardboard towards the propane, which had been running for a while at this point. It caught and WHOOSH. Fire surrounds my face. Whoa! What just happened?! I start thinking the worst….my eyebrows are gone. I smell it. I smell burnt hair! I run inside the house and grab the closest child “ARE MY EYEBROWS GONE?!” I yell. No. Ok ok ok but what is that smell?! My heart is racing and I’m starting to realize that was really not smart, what in the world was I thinking?!
Come to find out I burnt all of my hair off of my left arm. Completely hairless.
Read More:
Memory Jar Slips: Chasing Birds
Memory Jar Slips: Date or Date?
Memory Jar Slips: Ed Sheeran Concert
