A star-filled sky featuring Orion and a moon-sliver greeted me on my son’s birthday, and as I walked in the morning dark, I remembered… When he was ten, he asked to attend an introductory course at the Adler Planetarium — telescopes, asterisms, astronomy basics. Because it was not a “kid” or family program, I called to inquire about their policies, and they granted permission with the understanding that I would accompany him.
What a collage of memories from that shared experience: learning the constellations, discovering binocular astronomy, doing jumping jacks outside the small observatory to get warm while awaiting our turn at the ‘scope. How young he was. I was.
Time bends and folds.
And the blur of the sword hanging from Orion’s belt bends into an image of my ten-year-old son talking to the planetarium scientist then folds into one of his sister — now older than his forever-21 by seven years — on a research assignment at an international astronomical observatory.
Time bends and folds.
Like one of the origami cranes he loved to make, some of which are preserved in a mason jar on a shelf near my music stand.
Nerdishly 
How beautifully written this is; maybe the folds seem more visible as we get older.
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Thank you. And, yes, age and experience can contribute to how well (and what) we see.
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I “knew” you back in the days of starfish-hands and “would he were fatter “ and lifeguarding… Your son was just a year older than my daughter and so I tracked so much of what you did with school and family life…So many common ideas and themes and desires from your stories and musings found their way also in our life. And still today: just the other day I was recounting to a friend a quote from one of your blogs from years ago. Truth rings true thru the years.
I say all this because I want you to know your words matter. Your stories and insights and thoughtful prose mattered to a young home school mom back in the day. And still matter today . And your son is remembered warmly by someone who never knew him except through your writing of him. And I’m glad to have known him. And you.
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“Truth rings true thru the years.” Thank you for this; thank you for remembering, too.
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