To the Moon and Back

    On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite to orbit the earth, and the "space race" between the US and the Russians began. Only the size of a beach ball, it doesn't look too impressive compared to what we commonly see (and take for granted) today. Clearly, back in 1957 we had no real vision of how sophisticated a satellite could become.
    On that same day, in western New York State, a baby girl was born to a very average middle class family. She was small, she had some complications occur as a result of a problem in utero, and she had a rather lengthy hospital stay; clearly not an auspicious start. Worried over their progeny, and knowing she'd be their last baby, she was somewhat doted on when she finally arrived home. Her Dad called her Sputnik, commemorating the historic day in which she joined the family.
That baby was me.
    One of our family trips to Florida included a tour of the Kennedy Space Center. I don't remember the name of the rocket that we saw housed there being prepared for launch in the coming months, but I clearly remember the sense of awe I felt looking up at that enormous, glistening structure and thinking how far we've come from that first satellite. I think the same thing about my life. Since I was first "launched" all those years ago, my life has taken amazing twists and turns, and I've gone on voyages of discovery I would never have dreamed of... I can't wait to see what the next flight will bring.