Dance by the Light of the Moon

My son returned home from college for Spring Break today. (Spring? Not quite, at least not here!) I bought these earrings when he turned three, thinking they might help me remember his early passions.

For that whole summer, he was a wolf. At any moment, in any place, he would reach for something appropriately long and thin, and announce, "I am a wolf and this will be my tail."

One summer evening when Will was restless, his Uncle John pointed at a bean bag chair and said, "This is where wolves sleep." Will curled up and lay still for an hour, until he finally fell asleep. He was a wolf.

From the day he was born and well into his toddlerhood, I could anticipate sleepless nights by the phases of the moon. When the full moon shone through the window, he awoke ready to celebrate. He would dance and sing for an hour or two, then cuddle up and sleep.

He's home for a few days. The moon is a waning crescent and the night is overcast. Wolves should sleep well tonight, even if they stay up to see the final Oscar awarded.