HUNTER'S MOON
It was a clear crisp evening in Colorado Springs. The moon was full, not three weeks before Thanksgiving. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees in the recent wind storm. The few remaining leaves added touches of color as they reflected the light of this particularly enchanting moon.
The streets were quiet at this hour, the only sound the crunch of leaves under the feet of solitary walkers. Hand in hand, they walked slowly, enjoying each other and the beautiful evening that embraced them.
After a long day of yard clean-up this private walk was a just reward for two very tired suburbanite parents. To their great delight, once the supper dishes were put away, Cassie had volunteered to get the O'Neill children ready for bed. That gave Jack and Sam a rare opportunity to enjoy a romantic moonlit stroll.
"That was so nice of Cassie to take the kids for a bit," Sam was saying. "She's a grown woman Jack. I can hardly believe how she's changed since last time she was home from school."
"Kids grow up, Sam," Jack replied matter-of-factly. "It is pretty amazing to see how they change," he admitted.
"Our munchkins are growing up too, aren't they?" she asked wistfully, gazing first at the moon, then the light it threw on her husband's face.
"Yup, they certainly are," Jack said, pulling Sam a little closer to himself. "They won't be little forever."
"We should enjoy every minute we have with them, shouldn't we?" Sam said, slowing her pace and sighing as Jack's hand reached up to squeeze her shoulder. "Pretty soon, we'll wish life was as busy as it is right now."
"Doesn't mean we don't need time alone, Sam," Jack said quietly, knowing his wife was starting to feel guilty for wanting time away from the children. "This is what gives us the strength for all those busy days. Always has been, always will be."
"Yes it is," Sam agreed, stopping to look up at her husband's chiseled, careworn face, the face she still found so beautiful. "I love you," she said softly, reaching up to caress his cheek. Without meaning to, she found herself lost in the intensity of Jack's brown eyes, backlit now by the extraordinary light of the hunter's moon.
Sam wasn't the only one overwhelmed with feeling at the moment. Jack could always lose himself in the blue depths of his wife's eyes, and right now, under the full moon, he felt himself melting under her touch.
"I know," he answered. "You show me every day, in everything you do, with me, with the kids. I only hope you know how precious you are to me, Sam. Always."
Sealing his heartfelt words with a slow, lingering kiss, Jack thanked whatever gods had placed the moon in the sky and this beautiful, loving woman in his arms.