burn differently

I would not have made a good caveman.

I’ve been without power in my house for 3 hours now, and I’m about to go crazy. I’m not talking stir crazy… I’m talking freaking bonkers.

In the time I’ve had no electricity, I’ve had a bowl of cereals, conducted a long conversation with a friend on the phone, tried to start writing a play about a guy in a blackout, took a nap, made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and started this blog entry.

Oh… and in between all those events, I’ve entertained myself by conducting votive candle races.
Of my three small votive candles, I’m seeing if I can get them to end at the same time by blowing one out if it gets too far ahead of the other two. I’m utterly confused how three votive candles that I started burning at the exact same time in the same candle holder are so unbalanced from each other. The middle one is much lower and closer to being done than the two on the ends. Also, the one on the far right has burned in a very level with just a smooth pool of wax at the top. The other two have a sunken center with high wax walls curling in on top. The candle on the far left keeps going out because the wick gets overtaken by the puddle of melted wax.

It’s not like I ever burn them separately or play favorites. It’s not like they burn in a different room with different conditions. And, I wouldn’t imagine that the wax in one candle is any different or more apt to burn quicker or smoother than the other candle. Still, even though they are in the same holder in the same room and burn at the same time, they each burn differently.

I’m starting to give up hope that the power is coming back on before it is time for me to go to bed. This scratches my plans to catch up on ironing tonight. This also closes the chapter that the load of laundry I needed to get done tonight will remain dirty. And, it probably means that before I go to bed, I’ll spend a little more time looking at the candles and noticing and appreciating the uniqueness of the flames.