A Lunar Eclipse of the Heart

While cooking dinner last night,

I looked out the window and saw

a rich, blue sky.

I begged my daughter Lindsay

to go to the park down the street with me

because the sky was perfect for

twilight pictures.

We were both thrilled to see the

FULL MOON!

Something fun to play with in the pictures.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

It really was an enchanting evening,

with the full moon at our fingertips.

Zoom forward to 2 am...

Lindsay is shaking me from a sound sleep.

"Mom! The lunar eclipse is about to happen!

We HAVE to go outside and see it."

I read on the Internet that when the earth gets

between the full moon and the sun, it

blocks the sun's rays from reflecting off

the moon...thus a total lunar eclipse.

This one was particularly unique because

it aligned with the Winter Solstice...

the first day of winter and

the longest night of the year!

Of course, I'm the one who taught my kids

to search out adventures,

so I dragged out of bed and hopped into

an old, full-length down coat.

"WOW! Look how bright and full

the moon is now," I shouted to Lindsay.

"Mom!  Zoom out...you're focused

on the streetlight."

Well, it was kind of hard to find the tiny moon

in that big dark sky.

Meanwhile, Lindsay was laughing like a hyena at ME.

She ran inside to get her camera.

I looked a little loony looking at the lunar light.

(Note that I am not wearing socks.)

"Hey," I exclaimed. "The moon IS still full!"

And, this is how the lunar eclipse progressed.

Within minutes, it looked like this

narrow slice of blue...

Then it was too dark for my camera to focus.

Lindsay and I could not believe we

chose to shoot moon pictures on this very evening.

I was so happy she woke me up.

I would NOT want to miss this spectacle.

It felt extra special because I shared it

with my precious daughter.