The eclipse, as narrated by our children and their friends.
Two hours before totality
Adele, age 7: “What do you know about the eclipse?”
Lulu, age 8: “What happens is that the moon comes in front of the sun and eats it and blocks the sunlight.”
Adele: “Goes in front of it, kinda.”
Lulu: “And it is very important that you wear the eclipse glasses because otherwise the eclipse is gonna hurt your eyes and so we need eclipse glasses to keep us safe. And it is a really interesting thing if you are wearing the eclipse glasses.”
One hour before totality
Sylvia, age 8: “The sun’s mouth is opening!”
Adele: “The moon is getting hungry.”
Lulu: “It looks like a cheesecake with a bite out of it.”
Abe, age 8: “It looks more like Pac-Man.”
Adele: “I love the eclipse.”
Three minutes before totality
Nicolas, age 5: “It’s almost time to go to sleep, Mama?”
Nicolas, later: “I was saying that for a joke.”
Two minutes before totality
Adele: “I wonder what is going to happen?”
Thirty seconds before totality
Lulu: “There’s a star!”
During totality
All: “Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!”
Nicolas: “Why is it like it is night time?”
Emma: “Why do you think?”
Nicolas: “Because the moon is covering the sun.”
Emma: “Right. How does it feel?”
Nicolas: “It feels like night time.”
Emma: “Does it make you feel strange?”
Nico: “No. Feels like …” [starts screaming, possibly with joy]
Sylvia, quietly: “This is amazing.”
Five seconds after totality
All: “Yaaaaaaay! Good job, moon!”
24 hours after totality
Emma: “You never told me how the eclipse made you feel, Adele.”
Adele: “It made me feel … eclipsey.”
Photo of young eclipse-watcher by Emma.
We watched the eclipse at the local middle school surrounded by families with children of all ages. The sense of community was part of the fu of the day. Thanks for sharing their remarks.