We were driving home from hockey practice when Ian craned his neck up and exclaimed, "I can see constellations!" I was driving, and there were lots of trees.

"What do you see? It seems too cloudy to see anything."
"Well, a cloud just got in the way, but I saw some stars before that. I don't know what constellation I was looking at, but I know stars make up constellations, so I saw them."

He was so sure, so full of wonder in the face of cloud cover.

I confessed to Ian that I had never looked for constellations until I was in college. My boyfriend Jeremy drove us out to a cow field to look at them. I remember at the time being stunned that Jeremy had so much knowledge of the night sky. I focused on gaining skills that would lead to a job. I wondered if recognizing Orion's belt was something people listed as a skill.

I spent equal time that night with Jeremy looking over at his face as much as we looked at the sky. He was so sure of what was up there as if the stars were old friends of his. It was a personality so different from my own. I found it endearing.

And here was my son being just as sure.

After Ian went to bed, I started chewing on the idea of stargazing. Is it something we should all learn? Will it help us in life as much as learning the appropriate size of food to fit in one's mouth? (A skill my 10-year-old has yet to master.) If nothing else, spending some time staring up at the sky has some emotional benefits. I have never been one to have much "chill" or to enjoy being idle. There is an allure in charting the same stars others have for thousands of years. It's like a long thin thread through time.

I downloaded an app called SkyView for my phone. It can show you the constellations in the sky through the camera, overlaying the images over whatever it sees. Since it's working on GPS and direction, it doesn't need a clear night. I've enjoyed seeing what hides beneath the surface of mundane locations.

I look forward to trying it out with Ian one evening when we have fewer clouds. But even in the Philadelphia airport, it still makes things a little more magical.