Through the eyes of a child

During the summer months in Minnesota, my children rarely see night. With the sun disappearing, at last, at 9:30 pm, and reemerging well before they awake (thank you black out shades), they rarely experience summer night. Last week was an exception. We were booked on at 8:00 fight in order to travel to Utah for my sister's wedding. Due to recent tightened security measures, we planned to leave the house around 5:30 in order to be there two hours before our departure. T woke up at 5, probably because of our scurrying around with last minute packing. MJ was up soon after, and there was some down time for them before we needed to leave. I was in the kitchen finishing up some tasks when MJ came running in. "Mommy, mommy, you NEED to come outside! You have to come see the stars! They are so beautiful" I assured her that I would, after I finished whatever it was I was doing. She rushed back outside to the porch. In a few minutes, I went outside to find my two children, standing on the porch, holding hands, staring transfixed at the sky, and singing "twinkle twinkle little star" over and over. I was overcome with love for them and for their ability to be amazed and awe-struck at a truly beautiful sight. And I remembered when I too had felt the same way gazing up into the night sky.