Three shooting stars

On family trips to Sea Ranch, my dad told my brother and me that rules were different from San Francisco. We weren't allowed to go to bed until we had seen three shooting stars on our walk after dinner.

I believed this until I was nine or ten. While I'm a little embarrassed by how long it took me to realize that this was just my dad's rule and not a local ordinance, in hindsight, this was a clever way to get us to want to go for walks after dinner.

This weekend, my section is on a retreat in Maine, and I've enjoyed taking walks at night looking up at the stars, waiting for my third shooting star before going to bed. I wouldn't be surprised if I try to use the same trick with my kids some day.