By the Light of the Moon
It’s cooling off a bit. The air feels like it’s winding down after being revved up into a heat frenzy for most of the summer. It’s like it’s sighing like the deflating pool, intertubes and beach balls. The water noodles are put away in the the shed for the winter. Our grass looks happy, relieved that the parching season is over, happy it survived.
This is the perfect time of year for kids to enjoy being outdoors even if school has started. When it’s still light and warm in the late afternoons and evenings, why not try a new twist: homework at the picnic table or under a tree. It takes the sting out of the whole back-to-school routine and lets kids enjoy the waning summer hours. Popsicles and lemonade are great after school treats.
Then there’s outdoor reading, too. Our kids like to do their reading on the patio with the crickets as their companions. And I want them to stay outdoors as much as possible, before it’s impossible. Here in the west, we know that time is coming.
“Mom, did you see that full moon last night?” my son asked this morning.
“Yeah, it was beautiful. It was so bright you could probably try and read by it,” I answered.
“Hey! I’m going to try that tonight,” he announced.
“By the time the moon is high enough, you’ll probably be asleep.”
“No I won’t. I’m going to wait up for it, and do my reading then!”
Great, I think. He’s going to start his reading at 10 or 11 pm, making it hellish to try to wake him up the next morning. I guess I should just be glad he can see the moon through his bedroom windoow, and that it illuminates the mountains behind it. That he’s lucky enough to have such a scene to behold.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
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