The moon’s invisible string
The moon has always held a special place in my life. When I was in elementary school shuffling between my parents’ houses as the week changed to the weekend and back again, I imagined that the moon was tied to the car by an invisible string, following me wherever I went, my faithful companion.
Sometimes I wondered if the moon was tied to every car, the strings getting tangled as cars passed. But when I would arrive at one of my parents’ houses, I would look up, see the moon, and realize that the moon was mine, its invisible string taut and untangled.
Later in high school, the moon became a connection point when I went on a week-long cruise and my 15-year-old self found it unimaginable to be out of communication with my boyfriend for a whole 7 days. How would we survive?? Desperate to find a way to connect, I looked to the moon. We agreed to look at the moon when we missed each other – a connection point in the sky despite being hundreds of miles and countries apart.
Today the moon is a central part of my family – the focus of a game we play every day with an oh-so-original name: I saw the moon first.
The game originated in high school after a friend shared how she and her dad looked for the moon together. Her story sparked something that my then-boyfriend and now-husband have played for over 20 years.
Our son joined in as soon as he could talk and recently, without ever being told about the game or how to play, our daughter figured it out and joined in too – the moon’s invisible string tying us together and creating connection.
The game is simple: whoever sees the moon first and says, “I saw the moon first!” wins.
This simple game brings so much joy… and competition: a rush when you win and disappointment when you lose.
When the game was played with just my husband, we would tell each other in person or text, “I saw the moon first!” It was low-key. But after doubling our numbers when our kids joined in, we had to make some slight modifications because there were disputes over who actually saw the moon first on any given day.
The first modification is that our young daughter can win by simply saying, “moon.” The second, and most important, is that you have to say the winning phrase in front of a credible witness: one of the four of us or my mom who got roped into the game.
No more texting to win or remarking to yourself that you saw the moon first. We need proof.
“Moon! Moon! Moon!” my daughter exclaims.
“She wins!” my husband shouts, peering out the window to confirm.
“Where??” I ask from across the room, getting up to see for myself.
“Aw man… “ says my son with disappointment in his voice.
Appreciate for helping me work through the flow of this one.
Went on a walk and saw the moon, thought of your family :) What a sweet story and great tradition <3
Very cute story! Reminds me of our sunsets when my kids would tell me they "painted it" for me. ❤️