They Landed Safely

Discovery landed today. They even carried it on the radio. Sitting on the bed listening to the NPR reporters, it seemed as if they were learning the Shuttle and its systems for the very first time, twenty-four years after the first flight. And they probably were -- or at least thought we were.

I sat on the bed while Trudy did the morning things that keep this household running. I sat still and silent as they burned off the energy that comes from going around the world once every ninety minutes. I sat on the bed in my work clothes with a puffy morning face and wet hair while the reporters reported and the commentators commented and Discovery came out of the blackness of predawn night and landed.

And as the nose gear touched down, Trudy came into the bedroom and saw me sitting there still and silent on the edge of the bed with my hands between my legs and my face staring down at the floor. She came in and sat next to me, and she put her arms around me.

And tears started running down my face.

Because they landed safely.

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