MOMPROVEMENT

The Family Fireplace – No Excuse To Not Have One Now!

Posted by momprovement on February 25, 2010

Our new house has a fireplace. Something that has been missing from our homes for about 10 years now. Actually, this is the first fireplace any of our children have ever had. Now, it’s gas, so no roasting marshmallows (have you ever tried to get that goo off of the gas pipes?), but still, it’s been a neat experience. Especially the three days we were without power and so we threw some mattresses in front of the fireplace and slept there for a few days.

But there is something to be said about the family fireplace. Traditionally, the fireplace was the place where families gathered at the end of the day, for the evening reading of the Bible. Or mom and daughters would sew, while dad and sons would visit, go over school lessons and such. But in general, the family fireplace was as important a part in family life as the family dinner.

Today it seems like after dinner (if anyone even eats at the same table anymore) everyone scatters to computers, playstations, iPods, or whatever the electronic device of choice is, parents included. And so it was nice for a few days to be free of those distractions and to sit by the fire and read to my kids, talk about their day, and just spend time together.

So I’m glad we have a fireplace. And now that I realize that with a gel-fueled fireplace, we could have been having little gatherings by the fireside all along, I’m not so worried about whether or not our next house already has one – because one of the first purchases for our new home will be a great gel fueled fireplace with a mantle.

So if your house has a fireplace, start meeting around it once a week or so, just for fun. And if you don’t have one, get a gel-fueled fireplace and see how great it really is to have a family fireplace.