Stars

I love gazing at them. I have been enamored with them since I was a little girl. I always think of a time with my brother when I look at stars.

I was probably 10 or 11. We had a wood shed in the back yard. He would sneak up there, lay on his back, and look at the sky. One night he let me join him. He's 4 years older than me, and he was my hero. I wanted to grow up and be him. So, to get to hang out with him was great for me.

As we laid there, he would point out stars and clusters of them. If I couldn't find what he was referring to, he tried to show me. He stretch out his arm and measure with his thumb. Of course when I tried to do it, the measurement wasn't the same with my scrawny arm. He got irritated with me and it was time for me to go inside.

That happened a lot when I was little. I talked ALL the time. He and my Dad would roll their eyes when I'd happen upon them doing something and want to join in. They were the two greatest men in my life so I tried to do whatever I could with them. Meanwhile, they didn't want a chatterbox tagalong.

As I got older, I talked a little less. Very little. I still chatter away to anyone that will listen. Now it's usually Tony that has to listen as we're soaking in the hot tub gazing at stars. He has definitely achieved the greatest man category in my life these days. For one, he puts up with my talking. And the other, he likes to star gaze with me. Can't beat a man like that!