Day 19 of our 31 Letters Literacy Project is about the mOon… the full mOon in particular!

Tonight’s mOon is the spectacular SupermOon, when, according to NASA, the mOon is slightly closer to earth in its orbit than average… and coinciding with tonight’s full mOon, will make the mOon appear bigger and closer to earth.

Even more interesting to know, the full mOon tonight occurs less than one hour away from perigee… a Greek word meaning the point nearest Earth’s center in the orbit of the moon or an artificial satellite. 

The coincidence of a full and perigee mOon happens only every 18 years or so, so get outside tonight and capture one of nature’s most heavenly beauties… the SupermOon!

Today’s letter topic is, again coincidentally (see how magical the mOon really is?), inspired by a poem we bumped into on Day 19 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids.  The poem is Full Moon:

FULL MOON – by Walter de la Mare

One night as Dick lay fast asleep,
Into his drowsy eyes
A great still light began to creep
From out the silent skies.
It was the lovely moon’s, for when
He raised his dreamy head,
Her surge of silver filled the pane
And streamed across his bed.
So, for a while, each gazed at each-
Dick and the solemn moon-
Till, climbing slowly on her way,
She vanished, and was gone.

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The FULL MOON has been celebrated in literature throughout history.  Legends, stories, tales, songs and poems have been written about it.  This is a night when the mOon reaches her full illuminated capacity in the night sky… the sun and mOon are opposite one another and the earth is between them.  But’s tonight’s SupermOon will create YOUR OWN STORIES to tell!  Take a peek into tonight’s sky with your children and enjoy FULL MOON by 20th century English poet Walter de la Mare…

Think back to when you were young.  Do you have a MOON story to share in a letter?

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This is MY MOON story letter to my grandchildren today:

March 19, 2011

Dear _______________________,

Hi, my little darlings!  Tonight is a very special night because of the SupermOon that will appear in the sky!  This is when the orbit of the mOon is closest to the earth AND the mOon is full!  The next SupermOon will not happen until 2029… so make sure you take your parents outside to catch a glimpse of Mother Nature at her best!  Add 18 years to how old you are now to calculate how old you’ll be when the next SupermOon occurs.  I wonder where we’ll all be?!  How fun is this to think about?!

I must tell you that I have always been fascinated with the moon.  I don’t exactly know why.  But when the moon rises each evening, or even when it’s a gentle sliver in the morning sky, I can’t take my eyes off it.  The moon is generally considered feminine in most cultures… so we will call the moon her or she!  She affects the 4 elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Air in her powerful rotation.

I do remember one night from my childhood that the moon seemed to follow me.  Maybe that was the night that my fascination began.  I was little… maybe 5 or 6 years old.  I don’t know where my family had been that day, but we were driving home and it was night-time.  My two brothers were asleep in the back seat on each side of me and I couldn’t get comfortable.  (There were no such things as seat belts or car seats back then… very dangerous and hard to imagine.)

My Mom and Dad were whispering in the front seat… and finally my Mom asked if I wanted to come up front with them.  I couldn’t believe it because I was never allowed in the front seat.  (Again… no seat belts or anything… )  But I was happy beyond happy.  I crawled over the seat and my Mom said I had to lie down and try to go to sleep. Of course, I tried to obey.  This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I didn’t want to get sent back to the back seat with my squishy brothers!

My Mom folded a sweater or jacket or something… I can’t remember… and tucked it next to my Dad as a little pillow for me.  My Mom held my hand and I put my feet on her lap.

THAT’S when I saw her.  The moon.  She was right next to my Mom’s window, or so it seemed.  And she stayed there.  It was like she was following us.  I thought she was following us.  I remember asking my Dad how the moon could follow us… and he quietly (because of not wanting to wake up my brothers!) explained about orbits or some such thing that I didn’t understand at all… but I loved my Dad’s quiet voice and how he made the moon seem so real… even though she seemed so mysterious to me.

That car ride in the front seat of my parents’ car is one of my most cherished memories from childhood.  It seemed like just me and my Mom and Dad and the moon were the only things in the universe that night.  The dark sky.  The great illumination that followed us home.  My Dad whispering.  My Mom holding my hand.  The stillness.  The beauty.  The love…

Yes.  It’s that night that created my lifelong fascination with the moon.

I’m always taking photographs of the moon.  I guess I feel that she brings me back to that perfect night…

One thing I do remember is that I did not go to sleep in the front seat of the car that night.  No. No.  I wanted every, every, every moment!  I even remember getting home and walking into our little apartment as my Mom and Dad carried in my brothers.

I had been in a magical place that I didn’t want to end.  It actually never did end because the moon comes back to visit me almost every single night!

I hope you have a magical moment with tonight’s SupermOon.  I want to hear all about it!  Maybe you can draw her… or take photos!  We’ll save our stories and drawings and photographs for when she comes around again, sometime in November 2029!

Love you forever and ever,

Grandma Couto

P.S.  It is believed to be a great time to release wishes during full mOons and manifest desires and goals because of the gravitation pull heightened when the moon is full.  Release your greatest wishes and then work hard to make them come true!

P.P.S.  And oh… read this wonderful poem called FULL MOON with your parents tonight as you drift off to sleep:

FULL MOON – by Walter de la Mare

One night as Dick lay fast asleep,
Into his drowsy eyes
A great still light began to creep
From out the silent skies.
It was the lovely moon’s, for when
He raised his dreamy head,
Her surge of silver filled the pane
And streamed across his bed.
So, for a while, each gazed at each-
Dick and the solemn moon-
Till, climbing slowly on her way,
She vanished, and was gone.

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Rather than a MAIL TIDBIT of the DAY, I’m passing along a MOON TIDBIT today:  The moon will appear about 14% larger than normal in size when the SupermOon rises in the sky tonight.