[Image by roland 3791 at Deviant Art]
I have liked crescent moons since childhood. I remember tracing their smiling mouths on my bedroom window with silver or golden crayons and getting in trouble for it in the morning.
Even though I was made to wipe the moon smiles away, I marked their beginning and end with tiny stickers my mother wouldn’t notice. I wanted to see if the smiles appeared in the same place every night.
I used to wait until nightfall from late afternoon, my cheeks and nose cold from pressing them against the glass for hours, checking the position of the stickers over and over again.
To my delight the moon smiles moved. It wasn’t long until I had an entire chart of their course across the night sky on my bedroom window.
I would lie in bed watching the spread of the smiles imagining the place where the moon grinned with such joy to be a kind of paradise. I liked the crescent moon so much more than his show off brother, the full moon.
To this day I see people exclaiming in awe at a full moon. It is true that it is hard not to be swept away by its resplendent glory. But it’s all razzle dazzle, there’s nothing friendly about it.
So when people look up at the sky on a night like this and scoff that it’s only a crescent moon, a sliver; I think of the lovely snatches of smiles that adorned my bedroom window. And I grin.
Selma In The City 
Did you see that formation in the sky a few months ago that looked exactly like a smiley face?
My memory is a bit hazy but I think there were two planets close together which made the eyes and a crescent moon made the smile. It rarely if ever happens so it was one of those once in a “blue moon” events (pardon the pun) 🙂
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Reminds me of the joke about Ireland’s attempt on the Moon:
‘Sure, we’ll go when the moon’s full; there’ll be less chance of missing then’
My mother always said it was bad luck to see the new moon through glass … am I exempt, because I’ve had to wear spectacles constantly since 2004?
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What a lovely, feel-good post. I love crescent moons too. I’m still wondering if the moon is made of green cheese? 😉 LOL
Hugs Sel, you’re the best!
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What a cool kid you were! I didn’t have that feeling about the crescent moon – I loved it because it was spooky… if something really evil was going to happen, I thought it would happen with a moon like that in the sky.
We had tall windows that took up one wall. The house was positioned so the moon would pass over – I would stay up all night to watch it move…. and the full moon was the worst because it was like a spotlight on my bed. I used to pretend aliens were beaming me away from Earth. LOL !
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what a deep child you must have been sel.. this was a delight to read and i could see you doing this as i read.. thank you for sharing this tender memory with us…
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Beautifully written, smiley and original. All the goods things.
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KAYDEE:
I did see it. Now that was an amazing sight. I actually think I got a crick in my neck from staring at it for ages. I do love the night sky. I would love to have a rooftop garden with a huge telescope. I’d be up there all night!
TRAVELRAT:
I do love a good Irish gag. They do too. All my Irish side of the family are constantly telling Irish jokes. It is kind of weird when you think about it. I mean, shouldn’t they be telling jokes about the English?
I haven’t heard that one about it being bad luck to look at the new moon through glass. I love that. Ooops, I can feel a story coming on…..
GERALDINE:
I used to think about that too. I remember going into the supermarket once and looking at the display of cheeses wondering which one came from the moon. I was a very strange child!
TEXASBLU:
I love that image of the tall windows and you staying up all night to watch the moon. That is so awesome. You’re right – the crescents can be scary too, particularly if they’re covered in cloud.
PAISLEY:
I think my mother thought there was something wrong with me. I know it used to cause her worry sometimes. But hey, I was just watching the world….
PAUL:
You gotta love a smiley moon. It fills the night with glee 😀
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I love the crooked smile of the crescent moon too. Beautiful post.
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DANA:
It is pretty cool, I must admit!
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“I liked the crescent moon so much more than his show off brother, the full moon.”
That made me laugh out loud. “show off brother” ahahahahhahaha
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MELEAH:
That full moon is a show off – all big and bright and gorgeous. LOL.
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