A Dream Come True

When I was a teenager, I developed a strong interest in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This interest was stimulated by living close to a NASA center as well as babysitting the children of an astronaut. I remember going to the library and researching the background on that particular astronaut, as I was too shy to ask him myself. When I discovered that he had obtained his degree in aerospace engineering, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I think I had high hopes that maybe, one day I, too, could be an astronaut. I did obtain the engineering degree I'd sought out, but I relinquished my desire to be an astronaut. I realized fairly quickly that my shy personality (and let's be honest, lack of courage) would never allow me to follow that path. And I was okay with that. I never felt quite satisfied in the work I did, and I know now that was because God had other plans for my life, plans that I could not have committed myself to had I continued working in the space program, or in any other field for that matter. My new life as wife, mom and teacher is the rewarding job I know I was called to do. But even so, there is still that underlying love for NASA and all that it entails.

It just so happens that the mother of a boy on Alex's baseball team is an astronaut. Not only is she an astronaut, but she is an STS-128 crewmember, who I am so grateful to say, extended a launch invitation to the family of each and every one of her son's teammates. We decided with the shuttle program so near retirement, we should jump on this chance to see a launch. Bill has been to several, but I have never attended one, and this was really a "dream come true" opportunity for me. So the Saturday before last, we loaded up the van and headed to Florida.

The plan was to attend the launch scheduled for late that Monday night/early Tuesday morning, spend another couple days in Florida and then head home on Thursday. But after spending the afternoon, evening and wee hours out at KSC, the launch was scrubbed due to bad weather, only about 10 minutes before it was to lift off. We were disappointed, but that disappointment only grew as it was again delayed the following day due to mechanical problems. As the week progressed my hopes of seeing a launch declined. We decided to wait until Friday morning to leave and when it looked like an attempt was actually going to be made to launch on Friday night, we decided to stay one more day, even though it meant getting home late Sunday. It was our last chance because no matter what, we had to be back for Bill to return to work that Monday. Thankfully, God answered our prayers and Shuttle Discovery did in fact launch on Friday night. The weather not only cooperated, but provided a fairly clear sky for viewing the launch. What an amazing experience it was! I am so happy that the kids got to see it launch; I can already tell it's had an impact on them.

The trip was a great success in that we did get to see the launch afterall. But it was also a success in that our family had a fun-filled week in Florida. Not only did we get to witness the launch of the shuttle from the KSC causeway, but we also spent a great deal of time on the beach, went to Downtown Disney in Orlando, and even had the opporunity to visit with some of Bill's relatives who live near Orlando. I can't say that after all this travel over the last few weeks we aren't happy to be home, but I can say that we made some great memories and had the experience of a lifetime.

Here are some pictures of our incredible Florida vacation; sorry for the huge number of pictures - it was just too hard to narrow down anymore than this:

We stopped at a Mississippi rest stop near NASA Stennis on our way to FL

The kids out on our hotel balcony in Cocoa Beach, FL

Nathan, out on the beach

The view from our balcony in Cocoa Beach

At KSC on the day of the originally scheduled launch





Check out the ominous clouds blanketing the launch pad (thus the scrub)
Check out the sleeping beauties (ignoring the not so lovely half-awake person)
Downtown Disney in Orlando




Back at the beach




Successful launch: the first picture, taken by someone else at the launch with a very good camera, shows the shuttle just after liftoff, the second picture (taken with our camera) shows the starlike glow of the shuttle as it zooms farther and farther away, and the third shows the still hot launch pad following the launch. And then there's the picture of a tired Amy after a long night at KSC





Relaxing picnic on the way home