Once in a blue moon...

Yesterday, you could see a blue moon if you lifted your eyes up to the sky. For those who have seen it - I missed it, I have to admit - how blue did she look? Well, not particularly blue, I suppose. No, the moon can be red or orange sometimes, for example when she rises in summer evenings or during a lunar eclipse. Blue however...

This is how yesterday's blue moon looked like. Not blue, eh ;) Let me explain the terminology. A blue moon is the name of the second full moon in one and the same month. Normally, as the cycle of the moon is almost 30 days long, it corresponds quite well with our division of the year in months. However, some months have 31 days, so sometimes it is possible to have two full moons in the same month, and that's why we're talking about a blue moon. It happens quite rarely, however, and if I'm not mistaken, it will take another three years to have another blue moon. Ok, that's quite a long time for something that is not exactly spectacular, but somehow it's good to know, right?

Some things happen also quite rarely. Take a lunar eclipse - to stay in the field of astronomy - for example. If you are lucky, you can see a lunar eclipse once every two years, although there is one almost every year. Still, the eclipse is not visible in every part of the world, although, in comparison with a solar eclipse, more than half of the Earth's population can witness a lunar eclipse. A partial solar eclipse is alsmost as rare as a lunar eclipse, but a total eclipse of the sun really is rare. Most people will only witness one, or even none, in their lifetime, and most will have to travel to find the exact spot where you can witness a full eclipse. 

So a total eclipse of the sun can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but there are still other, far more important things in life that only happen once. What about being born and dying? Certainly two things that happen only once in your life. What about getting married? Well, here you could argue that many people get married more than once in their life, but you can only marry for the first time once in your life. What about graduating? Ok, some people take up two - or more - studies and can graduate a few times. Or you could count graduating as a BA and as an MA as two separate events, but you'll only once in your life decide that it's time that you find your first real job. 

As for me, I've got such a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience coming up real soon. On September 30, I'll be baptised. I think I can fairly claim that this is also a thing that can only happen once in a person's life. However, some people will heavily disagree with me, because, as a matter of fact, I was baptised a month after I was born, now more than 29 years ago. So it will be my second time, all right, BUT that wasn't my decision, that was the decision my parents made for me. Now, within 4 weeks, I'll make my own firm choice, and the only correct answer is Jesus. My faith has changed me a lot, because I notice how God is at work in my life. I have changed a lot in recent years, and there is no other explanation available: I can only accept God's many blessings with gratefulness. 

About my graduation then. I already have my BA diploma, and at the moment I'm working on my MA thesis. I want to graduate in December, but there's still a lot to do. Anyway, it doesn't even stop in December, because I want to do an MA of education, with the purpose of becoming a Spanish teacher, something I've wanted for a very long time now...

So, dear reader, now it's your turn! Have you already experienced things that happen once in a person's lifetime? Or maybe you are working on it, or you have some plans? Please let me know, I'm eager to learn about your experiences. Maybe then I can set up some sort of bucket list, with things that I still want to do, especially because they occur only once in our short life. (Inspired by Randy's 50-before-50 bucket list)