It’s large, whitish in appearance, and it’s out there and it’s way far away. It’s not an elephant. The moon is quite spectacular. Housed within our galaxy it’s our close terrestrial neighbor.

I ignored my cyclical emotions for many years. Even referencing the full moon and its possible effects on people sounded like an astrological cop-out to me. It wasn’t me, couldn’t be me, and didn’t have anything to do with my emotions and demeanor.

Until I accepted the fact that it did.

There is nothing I wait for. No marking of my calendar or counting the days. I know it’s here when I feel wound tight around the axle and become highly irritated by the smallest of things I cannot control. Because that is what it all comes down to, control, or the lack of it in my life. My irritation level is also irked by the fact that I am irritated about this stuff in the first place. Oh my goodness where do I think any of that is good for me.

Don’t judge me for using the two most banned words in my classroom, things and stuff. There is zero specificity in either of those words. Usage of those words is not a golden ticket encompassing all within one’s mind.

The Full Moon is an astronomical event characterized by the sunlight’s reflection onto the moon’s surface. Depending on the moon’s location, earth’s location, and period of year we see an infinitely discernible portion of the moon at any given moment. If the moon is not in view for me, it’s in view for someone else somewhere else.

The moon is ‘held’ in place by earth’s gravity and it revolves around us. Earth is held into place by the sun’s gravity and we revolve around the sun. Gravity keeps earth tethered to the sun as the moon is tethered to earth. Both follow the path of an irregularly shaped ellipse. The same gravitational pull that keeps the moon tethered to earth, and the same gravitational pull that allows life to exist on our planet earth is the very same push-pull phenomenon that affects our ocean’s tides each and every day.

Guess what?, the human body and its biological composition is comprised mostly of water. So yes, we too are affected by the full moon just as the greatest tide fluctuations ebb and flow around the globe. It’s no surprise then that a notable increase of student behavior and campus infractions occur along with the full moon cycle.

My fuse becomes shorter, I am cranky, irritable, easily frustrated, and lack the virtue of patience. Yet I am captivated by its appearance and can stare at it for minutes on-end. The full moon is oh-so beautiful but it does something to me that I don’t particularly like. During a full moon cycle, I try to be aware of my character flaws so that I am not a bear-of-a-husband to deal with.

Irene is a saint.