Today I’m thankful for astronomy.
My father has always been interested in space. He passed that yen on to me. I think I was 6 or 7 the first time he showed me the moon through his telescope. I could see individual craters and shadows. It was astonishing.
I remember another night when I was about 12. It was freezing. My city had received a significant amount of snow and it crusted because the weather was so cold. That night the sky was flawless. Dad and I put on multiple layers of clothing, enough so that I had trouble bending my arms. We went outside and rested on the snow for a while, looking up at the stars. It was so still. Mental images of that night are what I use to deal with frustration or the general venialities of life.
Slightly tangentially, consider checking out the Bad Astronomy website. Phil Plait is both wildly funny and informative.
![Messier-14[1]](https://gisgal.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/messier-141.jpg?w=636)
(image from http://www.constellation-guide.com)
