A month ago, a partial lunar eclipse happened, and the last time it was over three hours long was 580 years ago. This is a short exert of my experience of the event. I'll likely return to this memory and write more about it.
Not since ~600 years ago has the moon been nothing more than the thinnest sliver imaginable. Over a few hours did the Earth's shadow nearly eclipsed the whole moon. My mom was barefooted, and I was in nothing more than a thin shirt and shorts. My grandma and younger sister were fast asleep. We watched as the moon receded from our sights. I took pictures with an old digital camera that only had 15% battery life. Cars returning home passed us by, likely not knowing a once-in-a-lifetime event was happening. The stars are barely visible in the California suburbs. But it's not the stars that held our attention between late night and technically morning. During our time, not staring at the moon and taking pictures with aching arms, my mom and I talked about anything that came to mind. I won't say what we talked about, for that for her and me. We stayed outside for some time viewing, and conversating as the moon became more shadow than light. Until the moon was the tiniest strand of light, did my battery finally die. We saw the partial lunar eclipse together, just like those almost 600 years ago. I'm grateful to have witnessed this event with my mom. This eclipse is something special I can never share with anyone else. It is with this knowledge that I'm satisfied with the moments I lived during the eclipsed.
