The full moon in the month of June is called the "Strawberry Moon" or the "Honey Moon." This year's Strawberry Moon occurred last night on Friday the 13th. The moon phase, the weekday, and the date all have to line up for a Friday the 13th full moon to happen, so it is fairly rare. The last one was in October of 2000. The next one won't be until August of 2049 -- 35 years from now.
In the fall of 2000, I was in the first year of my new career as an archivist.
I was living solo in Savannah, Georgia. I had so hoped to be able to move back to my hometown after finishing my master's in Information Science, but with a tight job market it wasn't to be. I recently had a life at school in Tennessee filled with exciting work and wonderful people, but those temporary years drew to a close whether I wanted them to or not. In addition, my beloved grandfather had died a few months before and my grandmother wasn't doing well; she would live just a few more weeks. I loved Savannah and my job, but it was one of those lonely periods in life where you find yourself fumbling with a new transition.
Last night, the evening of Friday the 13th was marked by holding hands with my husband on the way to our favorite bookstore, strolling the streets of my hometown. We saw a wonderful play and ran into several of my longtime friends. Then we drove home under the full moon to thank my niece and sister-in-law for babysitting, to kiss our slumbering boy. Later that night, I woke up in the bluish light of the full moon filtering through the curtains to find my arms wrapped around that small boy. I don't remember him coming in. I don't remember pulling him to me. I just remember rising from sleep to find him snuggled up close with me, his smooth cheek against mine and his breathing soft in my ear. I leaned back enough that I could watch him sleep a little bit in the light of that sweet, sweet Strawberry Moon. And then the next thing I knew it was dawn.
I wonder what the next full Friday the 13th moon will bring. Brian and I will be eighty years old and Eli will be forty. It is hard to imagine. But I hope we will all be as happy and have as rich of a community as we do now.
The day of Friday the 13th found us swimming in the lake with friends. Perfect.
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