Right At Home

I was up late last night watching TV with my son.  We were both kept up by a huge thunderstorm here in Minneapolis.  As we flipped through the channels, looking for late night TV appropriate for an 8 year old, we came across NASA TV.  I feel a tug on my heart each time I watch that channel, remembering the years that I was fortunate enough to work there. 

An informative show called “NASA Edge” was on.  The commentators interviewed Astronauts, Flight Controller Engineers, and NASA managers about what’s happening with the Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs.  Watching the update on the Hubble Shuttle flight, I recognized something in each person on the show that I remember quite well.  They all had the same low-key, friendly demeanor that I was exposed to at Johnson Space Center.  Although these guys are flying in space and working at one of the technological hubs of the world, they are humble, low key, informal, and open.  They don’t seem to be impressed with themselves at all.  I really admire that characteristic in a person.  I want to be like that. 

Since our move to Minneapolis 5 years ago, I have needed to share who I am and what I did in my former life as a part of assimilating into a new community.  Talking about my NASA years at this point makes me uncomfortable for some reason.  My time there was a blessing, an amazing opportunity that was given to me.  It is a part of who I am, but that is not what I am doing today.  Today, I am a wife and mother, and the owner of a Non-profit organization working to help women find balance and peace through their faith.  I loved NASA with all my heart, but my overall satisfaction and deep joy are much greater now.  True, my day to day is not as exciting and I don’t travel much anymore.  I can get bogged down by mundane things like cleaning and grocery shopping but those are a necessary part of a bigger picture, which is a happy healthy family.

I loved NASA and my tenure there had a major impact on who I am.  Would I go back there now with what I have been given in my family?  Absolutely not.  I would never give up the privilege of cuddling with my son at 11.30 pm through a thunderstorm and offering him a bowl of ice cream to make it a little less scary.