a universe of hope

On the morning of Kian's procedure, I read this article. Kian was sleeping quietly on my lap, having just finished nursing. I was wandering around the internet trying to occupy my mind with something other than the fear that I was cuddling Kian for the last time. I scrolled down my homepage and found the link to that article. I clicked, read and was filled with awe at this wondrous universe in which we find ourselves.

I'm not much into science. I've never studied physics and simply finished my college science requirements with the more enjoyable earth sciences. In spite of my scientific apathy, space exploration and studies have always seemed to be linked to the future, to the hope for something better. That association is probably why I enjoy science fiction, even when I don't understand the science part.

So on that anxious morning, when I read that short, simple little article before the sun rose, before I woke my husband, before we drove our tiny son down quiet streets and highways to place him in the hands of people we had not yet met, I was filled with wonder and hope.

There was a universe (or an era), wonderful and different, before this.

There will be another one, also distinct and special, starting when this one ends.

We humans, this world, we are simultaneously small and yet grand.

Endings, in all their many forms, are truly just beginnings, over and over again.

The wonders are unceasing.

There is always something to be discovered and learned.

There are still mysteries. Some things will remain unknown.

There is still and always will be hope, love, joy.