2 Essential Reasons To Love Your Wood Stove

Childhood memories

My childhood took place in the 1980’s when owning a Nintendo and a Walkman were pretty high on most kid’s list. We also used a wood stove in our house for the majority of our wintertime heat. I believe some of my most cherished childhood memories involve our wood stove. If you have one or grew up with one in your house, you know what I’m talking about.

There was more to starting a fire in the wood stove than just lighting a match and watching it roar. Many winter days I would come home from school, the fire would be burned out, and I would head straight in the house to get it going again. Ripping up strips of newspaper, twisting them up, and meticulously pushing them underneath a small stack of thoughtfully placed split wood will forever be in my memories.

I remember one particular winter when the temperature got down pretty low. In our house, we started shutting off bedrooms in order to trap heat in the main parts of the house, like the kitchen and bathrooms where the water pipes were located. When the majority of household heat is manufactured by a wood stove, a smaller space is better when it’s really cold out.

This particular night was exciting for my older brother and me because we got to bring our sleeping bags into the living room and sleep in front of the wood stove. Our bedroom doors had to be shut in order to keep heat closer to the water pipes in the house. We had decided to bring our Walkmans with us and listen to music as we fell asleep.

My dad had just loaded up the stove with wood and shut the vents down for the night. The blower on the stove was feeling mighty fine by then! The cracking and popping of the wood that cold night is still in my memories today. 

As I laid on the carpet in the darkness in front of that Buck Stove, I remember seeing a flickering of light through the bottom vent as the fire was picking up. I closed my eyes and blindly moved my thumb to the play button (the longest one) on my Walkman. As a pushed it all the way down and felt the click, I can still remember the song that came through on my headphones. It was “Road of the Gypsy” by Adrenaline, which was my favorite song on the movie “Iron Eagle“.

Wintertime Hobby

As an adult that believes it’s important to move towards higher levels of health and happiness, it can be hard to find reasons to get outside during the colder months. Sitting inside by the wood stove is magnificent, but soon the wood will run out. Having wood heat is a great excuse to get outside and enjoy a great workout.

Chopping wood is a great way to get some reps in, from a functional fitness standpoint. What do I mean by functional fitness? Exercise and movements that will benefit your body in all aspects of everyday life. Swinging your arms building strength, crouching, bending over, utilizing and building grip strength, all in the name of functional outdoor fitness.

Or maybe it’s the cracking of the wood as my splitting maul deliberately bears down on a bigger log, giving birth to a manageable piece of split firewood, now on a new journey to provide warmth to my family. 

I’ll utilize a genetically hardwired activity for outdoor exercise any day, as opposed to a mundane trip to an indoor fitness center. 

Wild and Primal Summary

In order to make things last in life, I truly believe that high levels of enjoyment must be found in doing the thing. 

The recollection of great childhood memories can spawn the inspiration to work towards new goals in life. In our day to day lives, our overall demeanor will be dictated by how much happiness we can harness from each hour.

Hearing a lost but familiar melody, taking in a faintly recognizable smell, or snuggling up on the couch next to the wood stove with someone you love can recreate those childhood memories.

I hope that one day, when my own children are thinking back to their younger years, our wood stove can instigate a great memory or two. With each pleasurable memory, comes the raw, intrinsic ingredients to generate inspiration to move towards higher levels of health and happiness.