How many of you out there are enjoying this nice, cool weather?

Having grown up in the south, it’s quite an event when the weather breaks in the fall.

This occurred recently and it was noticed right away.

Once the summer months faded into late September and early October, the cool weather swept right in and I, for one, was so happy to welcome its embrace.

There’s something about the cool air that helps clear my mind when it becomes foggy or when I just need a break from reality. It helps me re-center and think about what’s next.

Whenever it gets cold, I tend to think about my late grandfather.

He lived in Fayette, which is about 45 minutes north of Tuscaloosa.

During the colder months of the year and when I’d visit, Papa would always have a fire going in his fireplace.

The fireplace was the best fireplace I’ve ever seen. It had the best hearth for the air to suck in and keep the fire going, and it was in the perfect place in his living room — right in the middle.

One day, he instructed me on how to build the perfect fire. It’s quite simple, actually.

Get a starter and put it at the base of the fireplace, and place smaller pieces of wood on top.

Light the starter and get it going to create some embers.

Once the embers get hot, hot and a good flame is going, place bigger logs on the very top with space in between for the fire to breath. You want it to breath.

To keep the fire going, as my Papa would say, “you got to keep stirring the embers.”

Stir the embers, keep adding wood on the fire and it’ll keep going for as long as you’d like.

Fortunately, if it gets to hot for you inside, remember that you have a nice cool respite to retreat to outside.