Moments of Focus: Lunar Eclipses and Lucidity

Erika takes her eyes off the sky to share a few of her own moments of focus.

 
We stayed up late-ish to watch the first part of the Super Moon Lunar Eclipse Spectacular on Sunday. And it was super, not as much for the moon itself (although, wow) but for the time hanging out together as a family. The kids were tinkering with glow sticks and counting acorns and trying to follow hubby’s awesome explanation of what was happening using shadows and basketballs and tennis balls. (I love that man.) It was super to be outside staring at the sky. It was super to stay up late on a “school night,” and it was super to feel like something magical was in the air.

It reminded me of another evening at the end of the summer. The kids and I were at an outdoor concert at hubby’s workplace, and since it was the final concert of the season the show was going to end with fireworks. So while we normally headed home at intermission, we stayed to the end. As the fireworks-time grew near, the kids were getting increasingly sleepy. Eventually, they both lay down on the blanket, and I was quick to join them. The three of us were all snuggled up together, them trying to stay awake, me just breathing in their scent and feeling like this—this moment, exactly this one—was what it’s all about and really who cares about the rest. We lay together and stared up at the sky, first counting stars and making wishes and eventually admiring the fireworks. It was, indeed, super.

What makes these things super? To me, it’s less about the moon and the fireworks than it is about the moments themselves. The moments when we come together to look in the same direction. The moments when we set everything else aside to participate in a shared event. The moments when we are sitting still, together. I’m so grateful for them. And I’m also always so surprised at how much they, well, take me by surprise. It’s like, “oh, wow! We’re having a moment now! Where did that come from?!” And then, poof! They are gone.

But while the moments themselves don’t last very long, if we actually pay attention to them, the memories of them last forever. I still remember the night my mom dragged me out to the backyard to witness a meteor shower when I was a kid. How many meteors did we see? The number hovers around none, but the feeling of the moment has a forever-place in my mind. As does an early morning walk on the beach with my hubby looking for seashells. As does sitting on a sailboat with my colleagues circling the Statue of Liberty as the evening sun lowered in the sky and the wind whipped around us. The collection of moments becomes a collection of feelings becomes a collection of memories. And what a precious collection it is.

How can you focus on a super moon, or a super moment, today?

 Share one of your super moments (it could even be a super moon moment) in the comments below, or tweet it to me @ErikaPetrelli1.

Interested in having Erika’s blog come directly to your e-mail each Tuesday? Have comments to share?  E-mail her at erika@tlpnyc.com.   Find all her previous blog posts at www.tlpnyc.com/author/erika