7:00 AM Overcast. Medium bright out.

8:35 PM Waxing gibbous, with a teeny sliver missing. Overhead to the south.

6:40 AM Overcast.

8:30 PM Waxing gibbous moon, directly overhead.

6:45 AM Overcast. Raining.

It was partly cloudy and clear.

Well, she’s not the Speaker of the House anymore, but as the first woman to hold it, she’ll always be Madam Speaker to me.

This morning when faced with the choice of visiting the Museum of the African Diaspora in honor of Martin Luther King Day, or going to see a movie with some friends, Jared chose the latter. Go figure.

So it was just Ethan, Matthew and I for a trip into the city. We had to keep it short so we’d be back when Jared got home.

The Museum (http://www.moadsf.org) turned out to be thought-provoking for Ethan, but not targeted for Matthew’s age. After our short visit there, which was free to the public today along with several other museums in the area, we made our way back to the 5th & Mission Garage by walking through Yerba Buena Gardens. There was a speech going on and a huge crowd of people. Of course Ethan had to see what was going on, so he snuck through the crowd, Matthew and I doing our best to follow.

Next thing I know we are standing 25 ft in front of the stage with an audience of 100 seated in chairs behind us. Oops! We sit down on the grass quickly!

The speech is fantastic. The speaker is a man who worked beside Martin Luther King as a student, holding one of Dr King’s personal notebooks, talking about freedom for all — including Lesbians and Gays (knows his crowd!). (I find out later he is the Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown, a former student of Dr. King and national board member and president of the San Francisco Chapter of the NAACP, and he was honored for a lifetime of service to the civil rights movement.)  Matthew is trying to fall asleep on me, but Ethan and I are entranced, clapping and hollering. Ethan even gave him a standing ovation with everyone else at the end. (I was still holding Matthew.)

Wait – is that Nancy Pelosi on the stage???

So once I told Ethan that, then we had to wait until the speeches were over and see if we could shake hands with Congresswoman Pelosi. Matthew and I didn’t make it over, but of course I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone that Ethan did.

Now he wants to be a politician. Again. I told him I hope he follows in Martin Luther King’s footsteps – a “community organizer” (just like Uncle Daniel!), a crusader for rights. I warned him that he can’t get rich as a politician unless he gives in to corruption. He said – “Sure, I can mom. What about the speaking engagements? The book deals?”

As discovered on a crumpled piece of paper in the bottom of Jared’s backpack:

1. Say bad words less often (that means you big boys)

2. Stop assassins from destroying earth with nuclear bombs.

3. Say hi to more people.

Editor’s Note: what bad words???

A total lunar eclipse on the Winter Solstice!

We were all psyched except Glen who grumpily went to bed by 10. The rest of us peeked outside to see if it would possibly be clear enough to see anything. It was! The sky was partly clear and the clouds – from big mountains of thick cotton to merry swirling wisps – were moving fast. This only added to the suspense. Is that a shadow?! Or just a cloud?! Did you see that move?! Or has it been there a while.

Matthew had lots of questions about what an eclipse was. Inspired by Grandpa Jim’s teaching techniques, we used the kids’ heads as planets and tried to show Matthew how the Earth would come between the Moon and the Sun, casting a shadow.

The curve of road in front of our house is midway between streetlights, so we could have observed from there, but our neighbors’ front porch light was very bright so we decided to find darker viewing. We walked around the block and decided that we would walk back to the darkest part of Laurel’s playground, to the play structure closest to the creek.

We brought a blanket and a couple chairs. Some books to read. Ethan brought his telescope and managed to set it up in the dark! I told and told Matthew and Jared to bring warm clothes but, as Matthew likes to tell me, he has recently “leveled up” and can no longer feel cold. Hmmph. Guess whose coat and hat he was wearing 35 minutes later?

By 10:15 we were all set up and watching the drama unfold through Ethan’s telescope. My funniest memory is of watching Jared’s silhouette; he was wearing another coat of mine, dancing like a crazy marionette in the yellow glaring lights of the buildings. By 10:45 the boys were too sleepy to stay up, but the moon had turned a musty red except for a tiny sliver at the top (or on the bottom when viewed through the telescope).

We trooped home, shed all outer clothing in the hallway, and Ethan and Jared fell into bed. Matthew stayed up with me another 30 minutes to see the complete picture although he was so sleepy by that time I doubt he remembers.

But we won’t forget this Winter Solstice for a long time!

Matthew: Jared, do you want to go to heaven or hell?

Jared: Neither. They’re both boring.

Matthew: No! In heaven you get to sit on a cloud with a harp!

Jared: Yeah, boring!

Note from mommy: I’m thinking they’re getting this from Tom & Jerry. !!!??