So Tonight I Think of You

Its like a prayer, of sorts. Its a peaceful time, a magical time, an inspirational time, and tonight I had the pleasure of doing it alone. Its not that I wanted to be alone when I thought about it, but that when it turned out I would be, I wasn't disappointed. In fact, it was a gift to have the time to reflect a little and to think of the people I have shared it with.

And so tonight, I think of you Mom, who laid out the blankets and sleeping bags in the back yard, made the hot chocolate and came in to wake us up to experience the magic for the first time.

Tonight I think of you Dad, and your trickery one of the following years; heading inside to "go to the washroom" or something like that, only to sneak up to your bedroom in the dark, remove the flash from your camera, and let it burst a flash of light so strong and bright "we ALL saw that one!" and "Ooooooohed" and "Aaaahhhhed" with such excitement. You had us fooled for about 3 shots... and then we figured it out. Your best prank, I'd say.

I think of the friends I've watched with, telling secrets to each other under the cover of darkness... making wishes about which boy we'd hope to kiss, or what our houses would be like when we were grown up. Tonight I thought of you, Wendy, and our plans to buy an island together, and build 2 houses on it so we could always be close as neighbours and friends... I can't remember if there was a particular island, or perhaps just one we'd imagined.

And tonight I thought of Karin and Rachel, coming to watch for their first time at our house... Rachel, you weren't too keen on being outside "with all the bugs", but once you saw the first one, we couldn't get you to come in.

Tonight I thought of the Portland crew... the families we camped with on the BC Day long weekend for so many years. There were always sightings on the nights we slept out under the stars. Wishes were made, stories were told, and mosquito bites collected like irritating trophies of braving the wilderness and bonding with friends.

I thought of the few times I have gone alone, sat in the car, reveling in the delight of having a sunroof that I could watch from without getting cold or bitten.

Tonight I thought of my first love, and holding hands as we watched. I thought of my next love and how we loved under the stars. I thought of last year's skinny dipping; floating on our backs, watching for bursts of light, or the telltale stripe caught in the corner of your eye - ahhh - just missed it!

I thought of all the people who bring magic to what they do. Friends, artists, lovers, tellers of fairytales and makers of dreams.

It is those of you whom I hope to do this with in the future, and those of you with whom I have shared it in the past - you are who I think of when I watch the shooting stars tonight.

Tonight - with every flash of light, burst of brightness or streak of white I make a wish for each of you... for all the best in life!