I Married a Spaceman

Photo credit: Travis Earles

Okay, truth be told - how many of you stayed up last night to see the lunar eclipse? We did. Josh wouldn't miss it.

From about 10:30 until 11:00 Josh, Shayla, and I sat in the dark kitchen straining our necks to peer out our back door. (We decided to let Kate sleep through this one, but she'll join us in 2010 for the next one.) Up in the clear night sky right above our townhouse perfectly positioned between the tall wall of pine trees and the rooftops' of neighbors was the orange glow of the lunar eclipse. I had seen one years ago, but experiencing astronomical events with Josh is like being a kid again. He gets so excited and it's as if I am seeing the world from a fresh perspective. Watching the brightness of the moon collect in smaller and smaller segments until the entire view was an orange hue reminded me of the magnitude of our Creator and just how small I am in the universe. The planets really do move and orbit just like we learned in science class; unfortunately we forget that sometimes in the business of life orbiting around ourselves. It's good to stop and be reminded.

As Josh and I sat in the dark laughing at our enthusiasm at the moon we remembered a time about 6 1/2 months ago when I was not so excited to participate in one of Josh's adventures. I was 9 months pregnant when the Perseid Meteor Shower was due to unveil its glory. This particular meteor shower was suppose to be the brightest and best in 30 years. All predictions pointed to midnight as the peak time frame to view this display of nature when up to 60 to 80 meteors per hour should have flown through the sky. So, it's early August - hot and humid as D.C. summers usually are. Josh, Shayla, and I are sitting on the ground in a dark parking lot somewhere far enough away from the city lights as to not obscure the view. We wait. And wait. And wait. I ask Josh, "Wasn't there suppose to be one visible per minute?" "Yes," he says, "But it's cloudy tonight". We wait. And wait. And wait until my pregnant body couldn't stand the humidity and the concrete any longer and insisted on going back to bed (that is once Josh helped me to my feet). It was about 1:30 a.m. when we got home. I think we each saw one meteor the entire time - or at least I told myself the flash in the sky was meteor so I'd feel better about the evening. The adventure sounded like a good idea when Josh mentioned it earlier that evening. We can laugh now, but I'm so glad I didn't go into labor in the middle of the parking lot that night.

Josh's mom tells many stories about this childlike wonder my husband frequently exhibits. Whether its his fascination with turtles, or the excitement over meteors, or his boyish grin when he gets a brilliant idea - his mom and I agree that this trait must stay with him forever. Yet interestingly, as we sat in the darkness watching the lunar eclipse in our kitchen, we knew that his mom was doing the same thing 3500 miles away. After all, she passed on her wonder and excitement to Josh. And Josh is itching for Kate to join us on the next adventure.