The Bright Side of the Moon

The air temperature is so balmy it’s a sin. Imagine wearing sandals in the absence of socks mid-January on the slopes of the highest mountains east of the Rockies. I could be wrong but I believe I even saw an insect this evening. Poor fellah, hatched too soon and bound to die shortly. Then again, all the world to see and no competition.

This afternoon, I arrived home at the peak of warmth with a bag full of delightful gifts from my students (belated due to snow days before holiday). I decided to sit in the sun on the back porch to open them one a time. The gifts were pleasant and sweet, but the best part is always the little kid handwriting signed on each card, including the occasional backwards b (or d, as the case may be).

Then it was time to get to business. In a surprising circumstance of role reversal, I worked on an article at the request of an editor who wanted my work – as opposed to working on query letters to hook editors without any assurance of publication. This took some time, and I anxiously peered out the window as the sun smeared across a blue, blue sky, dipping every downward toward the horizon.

Well beyond sunset and after gulping a hard cider, I lazily lope toward the back porch again, decidedly to star gaze. The moon nearing fullness, it is more like cloud gazing and I am surprised, as always, to remember that the clouds are white even at night – we just rarely see them lit up. I guess that’s how we all are, even on a bad day – just waiting to be lit up to see the good parts that were always already there.