Astrophysicist Dr. Angela Speck hopes to spend the big day with her family.
In the meantime, she's got to prepare the entire nation for the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse. Speck, director of the astronomy department at the University of Missouri, chairs the American Astronomical Society's Total Solar Eclipse Task Force. She's aware of how soon the big day will arrive.
"We have 27 days to go," Speck said.
She stopped by the Callaway County Public Library on Tuesday to give locals a run-down of eclipse basics. She's very familiar with her material.
"I did one this morning in Mexico and they had over 100 people," Speck said. "I've been averaging one a day."
She's also been coordinating with the media, schools and local emergency management. But she hasn't been sticking to just Missouri.
"(Yellowstone's) Old Faithful has about 10,000 visitors a day, and I think I saw all of them when I did a presentation there in June," Speck said.
The total solar eclipse will cut a 70-mile wide path across the U.S., from South Carolina to Oregon, in the span of 94 minutes. Even Alaska and Hawaii will experience a partial eclipse, with the moon blocking about 20 percent of the sun.
"This will be the most-viewed celestial event ever," Speck added.
She was a member of the AAS's council from 2011-14, and even that long ago, she was pushing the society to start eclipse prep.
"So they said well, you can chair (the Task Force)," Speck said.
To her, it's important as many people see the eclipse as possible. She has a couple of reasons.
"The U.S. has become somewhat anti-science. "If we can excite people a little, we could maybe turn that around."
There hasn't been a total solar eclipse visible from the U.S. since 1979, and Missouri's last one was in the 1800's. She said it's truly an unforgettable sight, with cold rushing winds, 360-degree sunset colors on the horizon, stars in daytime and a ring of shooting, shifting light surrounding the black circle where the sun should be.
"There are some things people just ought to see," she said. "It would be a pity if people missed it."
For more information, go to eclipse.aas.org.