Tonight was the prime viewing for the Perseid meteor shower.
I sound all brilliant and scientific using the proper name for the meteor shower but truth be told I found out about based on Facebook statuses...
I gathered up my two oldest kids, while daddy and baby slept, made some Keurig hot chocolate ( they associate with special events like watching Once Upon A Time with me , reading Sessions of the Kingdom Keepers books) and out we went .
Living on a farm with no street lights for miles definitely provides a benefit on a night like tonight- most every other night it means me being certain that wolves and Sasquatches are lurking just beyond my porch in the shadows...
Because of the attacking Bigfoot nature of the dark landscape and being armed only with gourmet hot chocolate I decided we would view the shower from the safety of our (locked) SUV.
We headed up to the field and not one to out scardey catted, Ella began a slew of questions about "what's that over there " ( it was tombstones. Ack scary answer!! There's a graveyard on our land- for reals :/)
^^actual cemetery on our farm
"are the stars going to fall and catch everything on fire"
Um I hope not...
Thankfully Ella started asking cute questions like
" can we go pick up the stars when they fall mama?"
I decided it was a good time to just talk about things like creation and Said
" You know God put all those stars in their place and knows how many There are"
"mommy how does he know how many"
" he made them, remember the first half of the sentence -made them all; put them into place "
"even the shooting ones?"
"yes"
"well how many are there"
"idk I'm not God"
This went on for awhile until laci and I got into a discussion about Earths placement and I was pretty impressed with what she knew about our solar system.
(she's homeschooled Sooo I totes get credit for teaching her that...)
After our impromptu lesson (the best kind of lesson)
We sipped our hot chocolate and sang along with the praise and worship cd playing ,watching meteors shoot across the sky- singing to the One who placed those very stars in the sky.
Could there be a more perfect mommy/kid moment?
Ella's giant blue eyes lit only by moonlight while she scours the sky looking for shooting stars, her little belly hitting against mine in rhythm to the her humming along to the music when there's no lyrics to sing. Laci leaning forward searching intently for meteors and asking questions about the earth and theology and things far too old for her.
So perfect. And free.
Sometimes I think as parents we try to make moments happen. We will drive hours to go to a special toy store (birthday trip to American girl store Coming up here ), plan elaborate parties, try to orchestrate big events - all to create a moment or a memory.
Meanwhile the best moments are the ones that happen naturally. Our kids, while they may remember special trips to pick out a new doll or the great theme party we threw, I really believe what will stick with them when they're grown and bring a warm smile to their faces are moments like these, impromptu, free - naturally special times spent together.
So let's all take time to lay in the grass and decipher cloud shapes, drink hot cocoa under blanket forts on a rainy day and jump in puddles with our little ones more often.
While the elaborate parties and special trips and special stores are great and memorable- they'll always be there, what will really matter and be missed years from now are all these fleeting moments we overlook and neglect while trying to make "moments" happen.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
