Category: animals

Day 77: Baby Blue Bird in the Leaves

It has been raining, and the backyard was muddy and wet. So I clipped Shiloh on to her leash and took her outside to go potty. On our way around the yard, I saw a blue fluff ball in the wet leaves. It was a baby blue bird. She looked like she had fallen from a nest or had maybe broken a wing or a leg.

I took Shiloh inside and made a nest basket with seeds and bread. My mom told me to rescue her, and reminded me a laundry basket would do. When I was little, we would rescue lots of animals, many of them birds.

But when I went outside, the little birdie flew away! She landed on the neighbor’s fence. Then, out of the sky, dove another blue bird (maybe her mom or sis or bro) and pecked her back and she fell to the ground, into the neighbors’ yard. I was shocked. And don’t know what happened to that blue baby bird.

The news has still been depressing. I believe we have entered a recession and may be on our way to a depression. Thousands of people are out of jobs. Those in the service industry have taken a ginormous hit. Most states have closed bars, restaurants, theaters, libraries, schools, events with over 10 people (was 50, but now 10 is the encouraged number). It’s scary. Also, the world found out Tom Brady is leaving the Patriots for Florida’s Buccaneers today. Sad day in the sports world. I inherited TB and the Pats when I met Nick nine years ago. I guess I’ll need a different jersey.

Anyway, baby blue bird. A tiny moment of magic amongst the pandemic we are living in.

Day 57: Puppy Therapy

Today was the second day I’ve brought Shiloh, now nearing 11 weeks, to the university. I’m grateful to live only about ten minutes away, so I can bring her and take her home in a feasible amount of time.

When I walk her though campus, the joy I see on strangers’ expressions and friends’ faces brings me the feeling of wonder. It’s almost like a wonder domino effect. Shiloh brings delight to someone, I witness their faces, the delight spreads to me.

We all need more puppy therapy at busy college campuses.

Day 40: Puppy Asleep on my Chest

I’ve been sick. Literally, the night we brought our new girl home I had a slight fever. So I’ve noticed wonder slips out of my mind when I’m not feeling my best. I’m stressed, wanting my body to feel better. Bennett and I have had a cough for about a week and I think it’s just a viral thing that will go away soon.

I watched a movie today that invoked zero wonder in me: Joker. It was more angering than enlightening. (Maybe I’ll write a film review later.

But in the brief moment of a sick day, our new Shi Girl fell asleep on my chest like a newborn. Prepare your hearts for the most precious wonder ever from our new girl.

Day 29: Doves on a Double Date

On a walk, I thought I saw a single pair of doves cozying up on a tall fence. But when I checked my photo, there were four. ❤

I love doves as spiritual messengers. I used to wear a dove necklace of the bird holding an olive branch in its beak. Seeing four somehow felt wonderful, a sprinkle more than just the two.

Day 27: The World is For You

I’ve been thinking a lot about how wonder is not quite what I hypothesized it as: deep and accessible. This experiment has complicated that definition and challenged it. I think of wonder as small surprises, natural delights, the changing of time, growth. But overall, today this phrase came to me: The World is For You….Not Against You.

What do I mean by that?

I was trying to pick just one wonderful thing that happened today, and my mind was moving like a spider across a web, trying to pick just one. So I will share them, chronologically.

At 6:45 am, my son knocked on my door. He sleeps in a crib and I’ve been scooping him up out of his crib every morning for 3 years and eleven days. The knock made me pause. My boy was getting bigger. He was a monkey and could climb out of his crib easily, but even in his athletic ability, he still called my name in the morning from his room. Him knocking startled and delighted me. I told him to jump in my bed and get some more rest. I wasn’t ready for this moment, yet, I was. Of course I was. But in a way I was sad to realize my son wouldn’t need me in the ways I’d been accustomed to. But I was delighted by his independence, his growth, his joy to come and find me.

At 10:00 am, I entered a fairly empty TJ Maxx looking for thank you cards to send to everyone who so lovingly bought my son a birthday gift and/or attended his third birthday party. I know handwritten thank you cards are so old school, but I love them. However, once inside TJ Maxx one cannot just buy the desired item one came for then leave. (Cardinal rule!) I stumbled upon an orange Nike Oklahoma State hat…..normally $25, on sale for $6. This was a moment of wonder to me. I’d been wanting a hat, there the hat sat, on the shelf, waiting.

At 4:45 pm, I was on a jog. Well. It was more of a walk than a job because it had been cold and I had been busy so I hadn’t gone as frequently. When I run I play Spotify music from my phone that cozies up inside an athletic fanny pack. And as I was running, the birds chirped like it was spring, a melody, their own song. They were louder than my music and I attuned my ear to listen to just them. Before iPhones and digital music and cassette players — there were the birds. To sing and sing and sing some more.

So, world: how do I pick which wonder? Perhaps a side effect of this experiment is noticing wonder more, subconsciously. And by seeing more than one wonder a day, I affirm that the world is on my side. I can look at the small three moments today and see this to be true.

the hat!
My awesome child (right) reading at school…also wonderful.
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