says Some years ago, when YD was about 4 or thereabouts, Mars was super close to Earth, relatively speaking.

says Close enough to be clearly visible as an orange dot in the night sky.

says YD's mother and I had recently split up, so YD was still adjusting to the visitation schedule (every other weekend).

says During one of her weekends, we went for a walk around the neighborhood near my new apartment. By walk, I mean she rode on my shoulders, which she loved to do.

says On this particular evening, we were walking around and I was telling her stories about the stars and the mythologies behind them. I told her about Mars, the bringer of war, of the Seven Sisters and the Hunter protecting them from the Bull, of the Fairy Queen and the Dragon that was really hard to find,..

says of the Bears whose tails pointed to other interesting stars and so on. She was really into it and I remember it as a really good evening.

says I thought about that last night, as Mars is pretty visible right now and we had a rare evening of cloudless skies.

says You know what else I did? I called her and asked if she could see Mars from where she was. She peeked out and I helped her find it. I reminded her of that evening so long ago and told her that I loved her. Shee seemed really appreciative.

says It's weird being a parent sometimes. I don't know how else to explain it.