Fly Me To The Moon

Work vacations can be spent traveling, caretaking, organizing, or shopping. Today, however, a new contender entered the chat—space research. Not casually dabbling, mind you. Full-on, coffee-fueled, note-taking, multi-screen, “Houston, I have questions” level research.

I’ve always been fascinated by NASA and our journeys beyond what we can see from the driveway. Anne and John fed that curiosity early with trips to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where I probably read every placard twice and asked at least one question too many. Back in the pre-Google era, I relied on my trusty Encyclopedia Britannica and whatever library book I could get my hands on. If it had planets in it, I was all in. I was scared to fly there but it just always drew me in.

Fast forward to this morning. Post-gym, coffee in hand, to-do list pretending to matter—I stumbled across the news that Netflix would be streaming live coverage of Artemis mission as it looped around the far side of the moon. A casual 1 PM commitment, I thought. I’d watch a little, learn a little, and move on with my productive day.

Cue the laugh track.

I squeezed in errands, got the Jeep washed (because priorities), and made it home just in time for what quickly became “Kiki’s Space Watch 2026.” At first, I folded laundry while half-paying attention. Thirty minutes later, the laundry was folded—but so was I—completely wrapped up in orbit patterns, mission timelines, and commentary from Houston. Not one screen, not two, but multiple tablets going at once like I was preparing for a final exam I never signed up for.

Three hours later—imagine the SpongeBob narrator voice here—I was still locked in. I went down the rabbit hole of lunar orbit, Earth’s orbit, tidal lock, and the misunderstood “dark side” of the moon (which, spoiler alert, isn’t actually dark—just fashionably late to the sunlight party). Every answer led to five more questions, and I happily chased every single one.

My brain absorbed more information today than it has in weeks—which is saying something considering its current “please hold” status lately. But there was something about this…something bigger than checking boxes on a to-do list. The universe has a way of humbling you while simultaneously lighting a fire in your curiosity.

Somewhere between folding towels and falling headfirst into lunar science, I was reminded of something simple but powerful—wonder is always available to us. It doesn’t require a plane ticket or a perfect plan. Sometimes it just takes pressing “play,” asking one question, and letting yourself be pulled into something bigger than your day. And if a random Monday can turn into a deep dive around the far side of the moon, then maybe—just maybe—we’re never really stuck…we’re just one curiosity away from liftoff. 🚀