Did you get a little clipsy yesterday?  I didn’t; I paced myself.

I first learned about totality, umbra, and diamonds in the sky a few months ago.  Oh, I guess I’ve heard something about Lucy being in the sky with diamonds but unfortunately, John Lennon isn’t part of this story.  Anyway, I have to give props to the city of Nashville for being the first to bring the eclipse onto my Twitter screen about 8 months ago. Their marketing campaign was like no other and I wish I could have been there.  Or do I?

“It’s going to be ‘once in a lifetime’ event” said newscaster Dan. “Everybody is going to come together outside and watch the total solar eclipse.” Obviously, that wasn’t the part of the campaign that caught my attention. I go outside to get away from people rather than come together with them.  Yesterday, I stayed in while everyone went out.  Today, I can see, while many others are trying to get an appointment with the eye doctor and asking their family and friends to describe how their eclipse pictures came out because they can’t see them.

The number of eclipse parties that I saw advertised made me question if anybody worked on Monday. I must have missed the memo about an extra paid day off for all employees who wanted to go to a party and see the moon darken as it passed through the umbra.  Parties and moons are not usually good words to use in the same story but you never know what those clipsy people will do. For me, unless the party was happening in my private office or virtually, I would have to totally reply with regrets. I missed the eclipse food, eclipse drinks, and eclipse t-shirts and hats. I didn’t even buy the glasses.  NASA didn’t offer any Q-pons for their approved protection and the line to get a free pair was way too long.

About now you’re probably saying, “What a bitch. She didn’t even enjoy the ‘once in a lifetime’ event.”  But I did.  I found a window in a stairwell and I watched the afternoon light turn to the same afternoon light I usually see. And today?  I’m not the least bit clipsy.