Anyone who has known me for any real amount of personal time knows I’m terrified of fire. Ever since the fireman came to my kindergarten class to talk about fire safety, it’s been a phobia.

I spent a week sleeping outside my parent’s room until mom thought to buy me my own fire extinguisher for my bedside table. For years I’d have nightmares if I even saw a fire truck. I still sleep with my door shut every night.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become ok with it in controlled situations. It’s taken a lot of time and practice. It took a lot of candles and finally bonfires but I’m able to handle things like tonight’s lighting of the grill.