A decent sprinkling of Perseid meteors may adorn this summer night, despite the pesky moon. Lie back and watch meteors until dawn’s light washes the stars, moon and planets from the sky.
With such a forecast, the kids and I spread our sleeping bags on the lawn and slept outside. In the night I woke and stared up at the few stars bright enough to outshine the city lights. I waited, appreciating the quiet. Lights streaked across the southeast sky as two meteors fell in quick succession. Two stars. Two more weeks until a new school year. Two wishes.
who will challenge their minds and nurture their spirits.
May they have strong bodies
to fight off colds, flu, and the opponent on the soccer field.
I pulled one of the kids’ books out from under me and searched for more meteors. Copies of the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan were scattered among the pillows and sleeping bags. The three older kids had been rereading the five books all summer and had brought them outside to read by flashlight. Fitting, really, that they chose to read about a modern-day Perseus on the night we watched his constellation.
My eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep, only to be awakened a few hours later by moonlight. Silver shafts pierced the neighbor’s apple tree. I looked up and the entire sky was spinning with faint streaks of light. I put on my glasses and the stars focused, grew still. My daughter mumbled something in her sleep and my toddler shifted and nuzzled about for my breast. I patted his back and he settled down. I sighed and waited. A short, fast meteor burned across the sky, followed by a fainter one with a tail of stardust. Two more wishes.
so their bickering and tattling will lessen.
And may they learn resiliency for when my wishes fail them.
Then I rolled over and slept soundly until the sun was in the sky.
That choked me up..sweet story.
You're a softy, Kyndale. Thank you.