Moon Rises and Moon Sets

      When the sun sets the moon also rises. Why do we never refer to the moon rise and only sit on the beach or our decks to watch the sun set? We also never talk about the moon set. Instead, we gather back on the beach or our decks and watch the sun rise. Is it because one event spills across the sky like melted crayons and the other is, well, the other is just dark. How would our perspectives on the cycle of life change if we could learn to anticipate and await the moon rises and moon settings with the same passion and poetry as the sun rises and sun sets?
      This is not meant to really be a philosophical thought. No, it is my way of pondering the hole in two friends’ hearts, perhaps all of us, who lost a cherished pet yesterday. It was time. It was the right thing. It is part of the cycle of life and seasons of change. Despite that knowledge, it feels like a moon rise, not the beautiful sun set. The laughter, comfort and absolute unconditional love given by the pet companion is physically gone but the paw prints are forever embedded in their hearts and ours. The heart paws are just like the sun when the moon has risen and like the stars when the sun has risen, they are just a heart revolution away. And so tonight, I will celebrate the moon rise and all its glory, beauty and illumination. Like our precious companions I’ll see both moon and sun time as a time to play, run, chase, and cuddle and more importantly, a time to be faithful to those I love. I’ll pick out groupings of stars and name them Poodley, Sara, Ricochet, Scooter, Gracie, Elsa, Nick, Kelsey, Cinnamon, Megan, Ellie, Rugby, Grace, Toby, Judd and Taku. I’ll find another group and name them Paws. And tomorrow when the moon sets leaving a beautiful brilliant sky, I’ll remember to pause and think of my friends and pray for the hole in their hearts and all of us who have lost our friends.