Thanksgiving is a time for memories. Most often good one, families sitting together sharing meals, visits with relatives and friends. For others it might simply be watching movies or sleeping the afternoon away after a really big meal.
I’m thankful for the fact that memories are still being made in my family. If I might entice you to come along with me, I’d like to take you back, just a couple days, to something that I know will stay with me for a long time.
My daughter and her family haven’t been to Pittsburgh in nearly three years. Their oldest child is just over three and he now has a younger brother. It was Thanksgiving and the family was coming out to visit Pittsburgh. Everyone was excited and their schedule was rapidly filling up. Ann Marie and I were anxiously looking forward to our time with them in the days ahead.
The house had been cleaned, rugs swept and washed, baseboards wiped and shelves dusted. Piles of books and papers scattered around the house were put away and the recently washed clothes had been put in their proper drawers and hung in the closet. If I say so myself, the house looked better than it had in a long time!
One of the things I wanted to do was to show Mateo, my first grandson, the planet Saturn through a telescope. We both share a love of the planets. While he is only three years old, he knows their names, the order in which they orbit the sun and he feels bad that Pluto has been designated down to being only a dwarf planet. Some children gravitate towards dinosaurs; Mateo has been pulled towards the stars! Of course, a lot of what children find fascinating comes from what their parents present to them, after that, it is their own minds and imaginations which take over. This wise young lad also has a fascination with trains; his parents are leading him well!
The day was looking great, not a single cloud was in the sky. The house was clean, cookies were cooling on a rack on the kitchen counter and the makings of hot chocolate sat beside them. I went outside and set up the telescope. Night was coming! Now all we needed was “the family”.
I popped outside a couple times, looking to see if I could locate Saturn. The first time out I could see Jupiter, nestled in the limbs of a tree. Saturn would be further west, unencumbered by branches but unlike its brighter neighbor Jupiter, it wasn’t visible yet.
Going back out again a half hour later, the ringed planet was visible. I turned the scope and lined it up. There it was, yellowish in color, just a small object in the wide eyepiece I was using, but the rings were visible! Young children often have a difficult time focusing through telescopes and binoculars. It is something they have to learn how to do, some pick it up quickly while others need to practice. I wanted to present Mateo with the largest view of the planet as possible; a stronger eyepiece was needed.
Luckily the air was nice and steady; the views with the higher-powered eyepiece looked great. Just as I was focusing on the planet, I bumped the scope. The planet slipped away, right as their car pulled up. The time required to remove two children from car seats gave me the time to relocate and center the planet!
After exchanging hugs and kisses we took a quick look through the telescope and then we went in for cookies and hot chocolate. (There are priorities!) Mateo said he saw the rings and I’m happy to go with that! Inside, he ran around the house, having fun spinning the world globes. We sat around the table and talked while we snacked. What a nice evening, spending time with people you love, people you haven’t seen in a while, making memories!
The family had other obligations later on so this night’s visit just a short one. As they were leaving, I moved the telescope over to Jupiter. The planet was a nice sized orb in the eyepiece, bands could be seen crossing its surface and the four brightest moons were in a nice line. Mateo saw them and counted the moons. The telescope was set so that he would be able to easily look into it; the adults had to crouch down a bit. But, this was for Mateo, not us!
After my daughter’s family had left, Ann Marie and I tore the telescope down and put it away. Even though there were no clouds to be seen in the sky, I was floating on “cloud nine”! I had shown Mateo Saturn, he had seen the planet’s rings and, he had seen Jupiter and its moons. In reality, to him, I think the most interesting thing he saw was the red buttons on the control paddle. It isn’t important, as long as he remembers the night.
I can only hope that someday, way off in the future, he will think back to this night and possibly tell his own child about it as he shows them Saturn though his own telescope. Making some more memories!
One more thing, just before they left after dinner a couple nights later, a train went past. Mateo and I went outside and watched as it crossed the intersection below the house. How’s that for a memorable ending to the visit?
