Adina Dessa, Astronomer

My heart. She’s three, yet she knows to appreciate the dappled pattern of the sun shining through the leaves on our skin, the sound of a family of swans strengthening their wings in preparation for their seasonal migration, the whisper of leaves in the breeze, the crunch of our footsteps, birdsong. As she draws in the dirt, she says, “mommy, this is our planet, the sun, the moon.” Something so simply stated beckons stillness, observation and wonder. The touch of warmth and wind on skin. The tug of a smile. Our laughter creating a staccato rhythm in concert with the music of the frogs and insects. The pale crescent moon waiting for its turn in the distant, blue sky. Her statement is a reminder that we are all earth people in this moment. And we can all be astronomers.