Five nights on the road – soon to be six – and it feels like more. We get up in the darkest hours of the morning when the Earth’s rotation is slowed. We pack ourselves and the dogs and begin driving in the direction of today’s tomorrow.

This process has helped me appreciate the moon even more. The moon has always been there, steady and magical in her way. My mom first taught me to appreciate the moon when I was young. As an artist, she made a point of including the moon as an artifact in nearly all her pieces. She elevated the moon to a place of deserved reverence, and that simple act cast my mom in her own magical light, also deserved.

When I was grown and we had kids of our own, we read books to them at night. One book stands out to me now: “Goodnight Moon.” If you haven’t read it, do so. Read it slowly, as you would when reading it aloud to a small child at bedtime. It is a deliberate appreciation of simple objects in our lives that we rely upon without thought or care. The book is brilliantly simple poetry, wishing “goodnight” to the light, the chairs, the clocks, the mouse, the comb, the red balloon, the stairs, and the air itself. The meditative pace of the book forces a moment of appreciation of all those things. For me, mostly the moon.

Rising early for travel, the moon greets us, and these past few days the moon has been particularly bright and eager to help. Turning in for the evening, the moon is there again steady as ever. The moon has phases, but she always comes back around full. The moon is reliable and forgiving.

Not the sun. The sun is fickle and fleeting and will hurt you if you let it. The sun is sometimes warm and playful and fun, but ultimately is unreliable and does not truly care about you. No matter how attractive, the sun will eventually let you down, guaranteed.

The stars are no better. They are too far away to know you exist, all huddled together in their little constellations. The stars cannot see you and wouldn’t give you the time of day (night) even if they did see you. They are cold and aloof. Don’t bother with the stars.

But oh how the moon shines. The moon looks upon me lovingly and follows me home to ensure I am unhurt. The moon is solid and trustworthy and glows even when she shows only a sliver of herself. The moon is enigmatic and intriguing yet full of grace for my imperfections. She has been with me a very long time. Even when I took her for granted, she remained unrelenting in her devotion.

These travels have reminded me to appreciate her all over again. Goodnight Moon. I love you forever.