Sand, Sky & Wonder!

UU World: The Magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Fall 2005

Four UUs tell us stories of awesome times they will never forget.

I didn't think about the soccer game I have tomorrow after school. I forgot all about my dog who's acting sick. I didn't even think about my birthday party that's coming up on Saturday. All I thought about was the two feet of air between me and the street-I was in the middle of a perfect ollie on my skateboard. I've never felt like that before-the skateboard and air and I were all one thing!

I was stuck at my Aunt Sandy's for the afternoon-no friends, no computer, no TV. I was ready to be bored. I lay down in her worn-out old hammock. A spider scurried into view and began repairing a web that was hanging between the hammock and tree. Suddenly, a fly appeared out of nowhere and was instantly trapped in the web. I was hypnotized. I've clone lots of arts and crafts, but I could never have made something as delicate and strong as that web. The afternoon went by and I didn't even notice. I was lost in the mysterious world that hung above my head.

The coach said everyone would play in the tournament, including Dylan-Dylan, who hadn't made a goal all year and who still wasn't sure what a foul was. Our coach knew that letting everyone play meant we would have to work harder than usual to play as a team. In the first half, we failed miserably. No one was even passing the ball. Then the magic happened. Dylan got the ball and dribbled it the full length of the field before passing it cleanly to our best shooter. Turns out Dylan can really run! We became a real team that day-almost like we were one person. It was a great feeling.

The sand was still warm from a clay of not sun. We snuggled in our sleeping bags and waited for night to come. We were far from town so we saw no lights in the distance. No airplanes above. No sounds. Just sand and sky. And then stars. Bright stars, dim stars, shooting stars. Thousands, millions, billions of stars! I felt like I was in outer space, part of the universe, floating among the stars.