Anything He Can Do I Can Do, Too (Maybe Not Better)

When it comes to using the fireplace in our family room, my husband, Doug, is usually the one to start the kindling. He claims there is a right way and a very wrong way to build a fire. In fact, he has his own complicated strategy for layering the newspaper, twigs and logs of wood before lighting the match.

When we first moved into our house, I had no desire to build a fire on my own. The family room is in the lower of our bi-level home so naturally it's colder down there anyway. Doug often joked that I probably didn't know how to burn wood and last winter (which wasn't all that long ago, considering it snowed here yesterday) I proved him wrong. And I didn't use his stupid strategy either.

It was a frigid, blustery day in January with temperatures in the negatives. Our furnace was working overtime to heat our 1970's home and I thought it would be a great idea to start a fire. My theory was that if heat rises (I'm such a genius, right?), it would travel from the basement and warm up the upper level in no time.

First I gathered the old newspapers and crumpled them into little "snow" balls. Then I stuffed them on top of the log grate. Then I added a few kindling twigs. Finally I placed three large logs of wood on top of that.

I could almost hear my husband's voice (he was at work, mind you) if he could see what I was doing.

"No! You've got to twist the paper into spirals! And then stuff them under the metal log grate. Then pile the logs on top and lean all the twigs into the pile to create a tee-pee shape. And once the moon is in line with Jupiter, you can light the match..."

"Shut up," I said to the voice. I lit the match and it didn't take long for my fire to catch. And to my husband's surprise, I kept adding logs to the fire when it started to die out a bit.

When Doug came home from work he saw my great work and said, "Okay, which neighbor came over to help you?"

So maybe I haven't started another fire since (it's a lot of work to man it, you know), but at least I proved that a girl can burn wood, too. Do I get a Daisy Scout badge for that?

From killing spiders to mowing the lawn, and from fixing leaky faucets to changing tires, there are a lot of tasks that women often prefer to leave up to the men in their lives. Maybe you’re still learning how to check your oil, but we’re sure there are plenty of other traditionally male pursuits in which you excel. The Parent Bloggers Network and Ask Patty are asking you to write a post on your blog telling us what you can do just as well as any man out there. Post anytime this weekend - today, April 11 to Sunday, April 13. Click here for details (and check out the prizes they are giving away!).