My husband has been in Orlando this week for business. Last night, he called, and said that he and his co-workers had planned on watching the launch of the Discovery space shuttle yesterday...but unfortunately (or fortunately?) the launch was postponed due to a gas leak.
His comments brought up a bad memory for me. Hubby and I were in Orlando back in 2003 - and we were one of the thousands who excitedly watched the launch of the Columbia space shuttle. Shortly after the launch, we visited Kennedy Space Center, where we snatched up some t-shirts, pins, and other merchandise to commemorate our viewing of such a historic event. We also got to "listen in" on communications between ground control and the shuttle - it was pretty exciting. Because I had personally witnessed this launch, I felt ownership of this space shuttle - it was "mine", so to speak.
Imagine my horror, then, when the shuttle was destroyed upon re-entry on February 1...We were back home by then, and I was watching the news unfold on television, telling myself over and over that surely it couldn't be as bad as what it looked like on TV. My heart and prayers went out to the families and friends of the astronauts...and I cried. I felt like I knew those astronauts - they were "mine."
A photo of the astronauts from the Columbia
I am glad NASA decided to postpone the launch last night. Hubby is coming back home today, so he won't get to witness this launch. He's disappointed. But that's okay. They did the right thing.
If I learned anything during that time in 2003, I learned to treasure the moments you have with your friends and family... treasure every day, every minute, every laugh, every story...give your loved ones an extra hug and a kiss.
Treasure the day.
Peace.
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