Sherlock Holmes famously claimed that he didn’t know that the earth revolves around the sun. In fact, he defended his ignorance by not filling his brain with trivia so he can be more deductive. Einstein didn’t bother to remember his own phone number because…why would he try to memorize something which can easily be looked up in the phonebook! Einstein did have a point as most of us now don’t bother to memorize people’s phone number like we used to before smartphones.

It’s difficult to argue with pure logic but sometimes, we dismiss the most basic knowledge without understanding its true worth. What Holmes failed to understand is that the moon is way more than just a satellite. In fact, life on earth might not even exist without it!

For starters, the moon stabilizes the earth’s wobbling axial tilt. Tidal levels and seasonality would be thrown into chaos otherwise. Life that depends on the lunar cycles would be disrupted leading to cycle changes and eventual imbalance that will lead to global extinction. Without the moon, the earth day would not be stabilized to its 24-hour rotation; the earth would spin much quicker and generate incredibly strong winds sweeping sand and ocean water globally. The earth would not be what it is if not for the moon.

And as all things change, I give thanks for all that I had, and all that I will have.

More down to earth, since the day my daughter entered my world, I have slowed, stabilized and become more balanced. For the longest time, my daughter depended on me but that dependence has shaped whom I have become. As I am the rock of her world, she is the resolve of mine. And as she grows older, she’ll orbit farther and farther away. She, I don’t worry about; it’s me that I reflect upon in years to come.

My daughter has definitely changed my pace as a single-dad in Version 3 of my life. She’s kept me grounded from spinning out. My wobble, my routines and my seasons will forever change when she leaves. It won’t be as before, but it will be different again. And at 15, she’s a lot more distant away from my center of gravity as I count on one hand the number of birthdays, Christmases, and summers vacations we have before she leaves home.

This thanksgiving, I am even more aware of her influence on me. And as all things change, I give thanks for all that I had, and all that I will have.