Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m excited. Very excited. Why? Because it’s just four days until Space Center Houston hosts its NASA Homeschool Day (October 16). I’ll be giving workshops on creating Space music for films as well as talks on “Music and Space” and “Astronomy and Music within the Classical Quadrivium.” Joining the program is Heidi St. John plus a group of scientists and astronauts. Real astronauts.

So all of that is just great, in and of itself. But it triples in meaning when I reflect on how much space exploration shaped my life—not because I was an astronomy geek. Rather, the Space Race characterized my coming of age. There we were, sitting around the black-and-white television, following the barbs back and forth between Russia and the U.S. The extraordinary energy surrounding those years wrapped all of us into the story. It was our story. (Those too young for the memories can partake by watching the 1999 film October Sky.)

Little did I know, when Yuri Gagarin blasted into orbit in 1961, that my life would be shaped by the pursuit of Russian studies, or that I’d frame my professional life as a Russian specialist. I couldn’t have envisioned traveling to Russia so many times or, ultimately, adopting two children from Russia. And I certainly couldn’t have predicted the day when I’d be leading study tours up the Northern Russian Waterways for The Smithsonian Institute, or, for that matter, reaching so many students and families through our Imperial Russia course on Circle of Scholars.

And, of course, all of that led up to this lovely invitation to speak at Space Center Houston. I intend to enjoy every minute of the day, while thinking back over the countless brave, brilliant men and women who have made Space Exploration possible.

I hope that I’ll see a lot of you there! It’s going to be a “blast.”