Monday, August 21 was the big day…
After weeks of anticipation and making the decision to keep my sons out of school for the first day of the year, we traveled to see the eclipse. We spent the night at my parents’ home in southwest Virginia and left early on Monday. Because traffic and weather conditions were variables, we did not make any specific plans about where we would watch the eclipse. Once we made it into the zone of totality, my stress level decreased substantially. We bought some sandwiches and focused on where we could get a good view and then drive quickly to the airport in time to make our flight.
We found an elementary school with no students that was near to several major roads we could use to get to the airport, and the sky was clear. The stars (AND later, the moon) aligned! After a picnic, my sons were able to climb on the playground equipment with a few other kids while occasionally checking in on the moon’s progress. Playing on the equipment while wearing eclipse glasses became a new challenging game that I quickly stopped. Although their interest was only moderate during most of the build-up, my sons became more interested when the ambient light started to become more obviously odd. We also noticed the birds chirping more, the temperature decreased a bit, and the lights in the parking lot came on. Then, finally…TOTALITY!
I heard many people say that you really need to see totality to truly appreciate a solar eclipse, and they were all correct! Even when over 99% of the sun was obscured, it was extremely bright. Not until totality do you get the real treat – a moon surrounded by a silvery gold ring that is much more brilliant in person than even high-quality photographs show. I do wish that we had been somewhere with a period of totality longer than the minute we saw, but it seems that everyone who experienced totality wished that it had gone on for a longer period of time.
As we were traveling back home, I talked with my sons about what they would tell their teachers and friends the next day about their experience. My younger son’s description included, “And then the werewolves came out.” So, in addition to science, we studied creative storytelling.
So, bring on April 8, 2024! We will not have to travel to see that one, but my sons will miss at least part of school that day, too.
Well done!
Good for you (and your sons)! What a great and memorable experience. Also great that you get to do this again in 7 years. Hope the school folks appreciate your priorities.
Good for you! Children should not be deprived of significant experiences by narrow adherence to rules.
Bad Mom, you are totally cool. Good job????