Some Kind of Amazing

Since I spent the long weekend taking care of Ernie I had to make a grocery run during my dinner break at the office. I just got enough to get us through the rest of the week, since I have to watch the clock pretty close.  Anyway, it's cold enough here that I just left everything in the car until I finished work.  Turns out I got pretty lucky, because while I was standing in the driveway unloading the car I saw a shooting star zip across the sky.  Then another.  And while I stood there in awe, staring at the sky, shooter number three streaked past.

I zipped in the house to check on Ernie, then I grabbed the phone and called my mom as I headed back outside.  There aren't many people I would call at 4a.m., but my mom is always up late and I knew she'd want to check out the sky.  She told me there was a meteor shower going on, but she didn't think we'd be able to see it so she hadn't been outside.  I was happy to tell her to give it a try. 

A while later, I was just thinking I should probably head inside.  I was getting cold, and I could see motion lights going off house by house by house as the paper boy made his rounds.  I figured he'd be at my house shortly, and the extra light would make the meteors harder to see.  About that time the biggest, brightest shooter yet streaked over my head, leaving a trail of light that lasted several seconds.  I'm such a dork - I was bouncing around squealing like a little kid.  I don't care - it was amazing.

Once, when I was little, I think maybe around seven, my sister, who was an avid star gazer, took me outside late at night to watch a meteor shower.  She made popcorn and spread blankets in the grass and I got to stay out really, really late watching shooting stars zip across the sky.  I remember being mesmerized by it, and have tried many times to view another.  One night Walker and I drove out into the farmlands around town trying to see a meteor shower, but the clouds rolled in just as it got dark.  The clouds have spoiled my viewing more than once. How lucky that I had groceries to unload, so I didn't miss this one, too.