If you are looking for a reason to believe how wonderful being alive is, then this image of the moon might be the perfect thing. It is such a beautiful and cleverly crafted image taken by photographer Mark Gee, of the moon rising over the Mount Victoria Lookout, Wellington, New Zealand. 

I remember walking along an unlit street on North Stradbroke Island, Queensland one evening with my three primary school aged children. High in the sky above us was a huge and gloriously brilliant full moon. We didn’t need street lights as there was sufficient moonlight to see our way very clearly. I challenged the children to pretend I was blind and asked them to describe the full moon to me. Although it was 20 years ago, I still remember the beauty of the evening over the dark island and the difficulty the children had in addressing that challenge.

Whenever I thought of home whilst living away from Australia, I would often remember the times when standing on my deck I had watched the moon rise in a direct line above my driveway, or of being able to see it sink into a puddle of gold behind the Taylor Range. My aviator husband still regrets the fact that after being chosen for the American Space Training Program, it was discovered that not only was he an Australian citizen and therefore barred from participation, but he was also too tall for the space capsule.

There is something so mystical about watching a full moon rise and it is impossible not to be affected by the magic. I have even managed to get my very unromantic husband to waltz with me in the moonlight on the forecourt of the Notre Dame with musicians busking nearby. He of course says it was more likely to be the influence of too much French red wine, a fact that I dispute. Of course I never have the camera nearby or am too busy dancing to catch the moment. My only picture of the moon is one that I took very quickly from our kitchen window not long after we had moved to Los Angeles. I watched it rise the full length of the MGM building and then perch above it. I never saw it happen again in the 18 months we lived across from that building.

Anyone have their special moonlight moments to share with me?