We were all ready for the big event. We had our glasses, sunscreen, sun hats, lawn chairs, and cold drinks. We knew exactly what time to go outside. Best of all, we didn’t have to go anywhere else to view it. We were in the path of totality. The solar eclipse was coming to us. My sister had come to visit and view it with us.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue with a few puffy clouds. We could hardly wait for the once-in-a-lifetime event. It started right on time. We were hot sweaty and sticky with sunscreen, but it was worth it.

We made jokes about the dragon eating the sun. First it was a three-quarters sun, then a half sun, next only a quarter of the sun was visible. Finally, only a tiny sliver was visible. Then the sun went out. “Awesome” I screamed.

But wait, where was the corona? I removed my glasses and found that a small cloud had drifted in front of the sun at the very split second of totality. We could scarcely believe it. It became dark and quiet. We waited for the cloud to drift away and the sun to return. It  did, but not until the shadow had moved on past the full eclipse. We saw the entire sun slowly reappearing.

I suppose it could have been worse. At least we got to see most of it, which was more than some people saw. I am glad I did not travel a long distance or pay $500 for a prime viewing spot. Apparently, not everyone in the area was under a cloud. I got to read on Facebook about how moving, inspiring, and wonderful it was. I am happy for them. But I am only now recovered enough to be able to write about it.

Maybe we should not have made jokes about the sun-eating dragon,