Talking to Luna

When my son was old enough to start recognizing bodies in the night sky, we introduced him to Luna. They have been good friends ever since.

Matthew often looks for her and asks where she is if he can't see her.

He loves to talk to her. This is, in part, influenced by watching Bear in the Big Blue House. Bear talks to Luna at the end of each episode. One of the reasons I like the show is because the conversations are very gentle and Bear's voice and appearance are very cuddly. Luna, though, has always been Matt's favorite character.



About a month ago, Matthew was having a really hard morning. He didn't want to wake up, getting dressed was a fight, and everything else was a battle. I took a few minutes to go outside and scrape the frost off the car. I stepped out of the house into an astoundingly beautiful, clear, blue morning. The kind you read about in books. I looked up at the sky, which was cloudless, and the last few stars. There was Luna. She was just starting to wane and was still large and round.

It struck me. I hurried inside and told Matt that if he hurried, he would have time to talk to Luna before he left for school. What a motivation that was for him. He raced through the rest of getting ready without a peep and then we went outside and Matt called out to her. He told her he saw her and he waved. He told her hello and that he was glad to see her.

During the drive to school he looked for her and called out whenever he saw her. He had a good day after all.