Moonlight Madness

Last night I went with a caravan of friends to a midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  To ensure that we would get tickets to this event we decided to pre-order and make the trip to Silverdale, aka the closest civilization on the peninsula.  There's a Target there, as well as a mall, and the most exciting part: a brewery that serves food too!  We naturally hit up Silver City Brewery and Marie and I found our way to a refreshing pint while our group of 12 was waiting to be seated.  If you are ever in Silverdale and need a place to eat and/or get some pretty good beer, I'd recommend this place!  The employees were all friendly and helpful, as well as patient and accommodating.  Bonus, they list the responsibly harvested sea food and local produce and dairy products they use in their food.

We waited in line for a little over an hour, played some cards and people watched.  I was surprised how quiet the theater was during the movie, aside from some exciting portions that elicited cheers from the crowd.  Admittedly, I have not read all the books nor seen all the movies, but I still had a decent enough idea about the plot that I still could follow the story and knew who most of the characters were.  The movie was well done, and seemed to pass the test of the avid fans and followers I was with.

We left the theater at 2:20 a.m. and I was slightly surprised that I was still awake.  However as Amanda started driving us home my eyelids became heavier and I dosed off a bit.  As we crossed the Hood Canal Bridge I heard someone say, "Oh!  Look at the full moon!  It's so pretty!"  I'm a sucker for the moon, even more so if it's full, so I peeked out from half-shut sleepy eyes and, sure enough, there it was peeking back at me through the clouds and glistening off the water.  I smiled as I tucked my head back down and closed my eyes again, realizing that during my time here the moon has often shown herself and come into my life offering a silky-looking, silver shining stream for me to bask in and follow.

The first time I remember was when I was in a different car also crossing the Hood Canal Bridge late at night.  I was on my way home from a day in Seattle with the new AmeriCorps team and I opted to jump in the car of a new friend and his longtime friend to try and get myself out of my comfort zone and stay true to my goal of actively making new pals.  These guys welcomed me into their conversation on the way home and when I looked out the window and saw the moon hanging out with us as well I knew without a doubt I was in the right place and moving to Port Angeles had been the right move for me to make.

One weekend when I was on Lopez Island another full moon was in the sky. It was the middle of November, the first snow had fallen and the days were getting unrelentingly shorter and darker.  As the sun set over the bay I was looking over with a friend I realized the full moon was rising, but in a far off, distant way.  This full moon required me to stretch my gaze and heart in order to feel the magic I often take for granted when she is hanging close and nearby.  It fit perfectly for the weekend I was experiencing; to those around me it seemed that going to Lopez and tasting homemade beers and spending time with a friend would have been perfect for me.  But something felt off and I couldn't place it, just that I felt like I had to reach and grasp and search unsuccessfully for the peace and wholeness I was hoping I'd find there.  The moon was beautiful and still there guiding me, and ultimately her distance that weekend helped guide me away into better places for my heart.  Later that weekend after I was home and more snow had fallen, I was tip-toeing up the stairs in the middle of the night after getting some water, and there she was - the big, silver full moon in all her glory brightening the night and making the snow look magical.  I was back where I needed to be and she was letting me know it by coming in nice and close.

Another snow-kissed evening I was the one driving home.  Heading west on 101 the moon was situated right over the horizon line and hung big and bright.  In the moment I was filled with happiness and knew that regardless of what the future held I could be blissful in that moment.  I was back in the moon's good graces, it seemed, and she was lighting my way home and opening my heart to new kinds of friendship and joy.

The spring was long, cool, and rainy, and it seemed the moon was not around much.  There were nights, though, that I would let Maise out and I would look up and see her in various forms.  Some of my favorite nights were when she was a thin crescent, trying out the spring skies and perhaps seeing things in a new way - or maybe that just was me.

As summer has entered the picture, occasional clearer skies have allowed the moon to show up more often, sometimes even in the middle of the day!  On the 4th of July she showed half of herself while I was spending time with friends who I will not see as often as some of us are moving in a very short time.  It made me think of how while the side of me that I was showing to my friends was true and sincere, there was another side that  I was keeping to myself.  If I had shown all of myself, shared all of me that was there that day, it would have been too much for me...happiness and sadness and confusion and clarity and fear and hope all mixed together.  I was present and in the moment, as was the half moon, but it was better that we both shared only some of ourselves that day.

I have long looked to the moon and felt comfort and solace, as well as a push or a pull in life.  Maybe I am like the tides moved by the moon, sometimes full of strength and power overcoming obstacles in my way like they are nothing, sometimes receding back and exposing vulnerable pieces within that can easily be trampled if others are not cautious.  I am grateful to the moon and the light she brings into my life, bathing me in love and guidance.  I'm hoping she and I can continue our friendship in the next stages of my life as well.