The Solar Eclipse

August 21st was the solar eclipse. Dave desperately wanted to see it in the path of totality, and the nearest place was Idaho. This was also going to be the day before school began and the day of Back-to-School night. After a lot of discussion, I agreed that he could go and take Cruise and Jett, but that I would be staying home with Miles because 1) Miles wouldn't care, 2) Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic with 3 little boys just doesn't scream "a good time" to me, and 3) Someone had to go to Back-to-School night. I know, I'm a huge party pooper. But the three of them were really excited and we agreed it would be a memorable event for all of them.

Dave's sister, Katie, who lives in Idaho, was going to be out-of-town with her family during the eclipse, and therefore would have an empty house. She was so kind to let them stay there rather than sleep in the car on the side of the road. The best part was, their house was sitting in the path of totality, so it was an extra bonus because Dave and the boys were able to just walk outside and experience it. 

They drove up Sunday after lunch and were surprised to find there was no traffic. They had brought everything they would need, including extra gas and food. The eclipse was Monday morning and they had all prepared with cereal box viewers and Dave's welding helmet. They were completely in awe of the whole experience and Dave had the hardest time describing it. They sent me this photo, but of course it just didn't do the whole thing justice.

Dave wrote this about the experience:

"I should say something about the eclipse. It was the most spectacular natural event I have ever witnessed. I can see why people flew from all corners the world just to see it. I also can understand why people get addicted to seeing solar eclipses and travel across the world just to see them again. I don't think you have any idea what you missed if you didn't get to see it in person. I have watched several professional recordings of the solar eclipses and I have always been fascinated by them. Many of these "recordings" are very impressive but I was MOST surprised to find is that none....NOT A SINGLE ONE of these "recordings" can show you what you actually see with the naked eye when you're in the path of totality. I don't know why that is exactly. I suspect that none of our modern cameras are anywhere near as capable as the human eye when it comes to witnessing something like this. Perhaps we haven't created a camera that can focus such intense light coming from an object so distant and then refocus instantaneously to very little light coming from that same distant object and then back again to very intense light fluidly with out changing filters and settings and all sorts of other things in a split second. I tried to "take video" and "photograph" the eclipse and once I got home I looked over all my footage and photos and realized what I captured is junk compared to what I saw. No wonder you can watch even the NASA recordings of the event and think to your self "so, it gets dark and then it get light again big whoop" What you saw was a "recording" you didn't SEE the eclipse. You might think "Dave how different could it actually be from the recording?" IT IS JUST DIFFERENT, TRUST ME. Now that I saw it with my own eyes I get why ancient people, albeit naive to the cosmos but still logical human beings, were terrified of it and thought something terrible was happening or about to happen. You watch recordings of it and you think you get a sense of what it looks like....I am sorry I have to DISAGREE. I still have not seen a recording of the event that even closely resembles what I ACTUALLY SAW today. Here is our best shot of the eclipse that we got. Jett gets the credit for actually snapping this photo. It looks sorta cool and I think he did a really good job but what I want to impress on your mind is that what you see in the picture looks like a child's scribble on paper compared to what it really was."

While the eclipse was happening, and everyone was outside with their glasses, staring at the sun, Miles and I were in Costco doing the shopping and it was the best Costco trip of my life. I think I only saw a small handful of people in the entire store. Again, I'm a huge party pooper, but when it comes to the grocery shopping getting done in the least painful way possible, I don't mess around. Yes, I actually took a picture. Because just like the eclipse, this only happens once every few years or so.

That evening, Dave and the boys were stuck in traffic. It took 6 1/2 hours to get home; they were bumper to bumper most of the way. That trip is usually 3 hours. So I ended up going to Back-to-School night with Miles. I paid my PTA dues, bought school shirts, and met all the teachers. I first went to Cruise's homeroom, the small group autism class, and spoke with Mrs. Poyfair and grabbed all the paperwork. Then I met Jett's teacher, who is an older lady named Mrs. Covington. She seemed nice and quirky, and had the whole room cowboy themed. Then I decided to meet Cruise's general ed teacher, Mr. Young, who is a younger teacher with lots of energy and was really excited to have Cruise in his class for math, science and social studies. 

Dave and the boys all got home around 8pm and were tired and hungry. I was happy to have them home again and even more happy that they got back in time for the first day of school.