C'mon baby, light my fire!

I can be very stubborn about certain things. Yes, I hate to admit it but I am. I was reminded of this particular trait this past week. We heat our home with wood. Me and woodstoves go way back, I have started more fires and kept more stoves going than I can count. I consider myself a very experienced woodstover.
However, our woodstoves here in the West seem to be very different from their Eastern counterparts. Actually, I’m not sure it’s the stoves fault. Our Western wood is mostly softer wood than the wonderful oak, apple, and other hard woods I remember fondly. The point is that if not fed very often, this stove goes out.
So I have had to start this stove over and over again. I have come to HATE doing it. It is time consuming and I have worked on a hit or miss system. Sometimes it starts great- sometimes it doesn’t. I have been verbal about my frustration. My sweet, patient husband has offered on several occasions to show me how to light the stove. I in my New England stubbornness have declined rather vehemently. I mean, really- HE show ME how to light a fire! Who does he think he is? It’s the stupid stoves problem not mine!
Last week I was out all day. I knew that I was coming home to a dark, cold house. I was tired, hungry and had a car full of groceries to unpack and put away. I started cursing out the stove before I even turned into the driveway! I was miserable.
But when I entered the house I was pleasantly surprised. Before leaving for work my sweetie had turned on a few lights, (he remembered how much I hate coming home to a dark house). Then I opened my dreaded enemy- the woodstove from hell- and found that it was all laid out ready to light. What a guy!
I noticed the way he had it set up. It was much different than I usually did it. I put the match to it and proceeded to empty my car. By the time I was done, that fire was blazing and heat was rising from it. I felt like a complete idiot because my pride and stubbornness in refusing to let him teach me his way had cost me hours of stress and frustration!!
I have since used his method every time. Guess what? It works every time! I showed my daughters how to do it and they called it magic! It is. Now I’m wondering about all the other amazing things my stubbornness has kept me from learning. Maybe I’d rather not know.
That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?