Two Weeks of Wonder

(heaven knows we need it)

I usually end posts with my awe diary entries. But last week I hit the Substack space limit with my love letter to PBS KIDS — my most read/shared newsletter to date. (I also turned that post into a podcast, video, short reel if you want to share and encourage others to protect public media.)

That means this week, you get double the wonder! Oh, and the obligatory reminder that my book comes out in two weeks!

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Hey, friends!

As most of you know, I’ve been keeping a daily awe diary since January 1 — to walk the (wonder) walk of being an awe-seeker. Pasting in these two weeks of entries was unexpectedly emotional this morning. Turns out that one benefit of keeping a diary is the ability to tap back in to nourishing memories, even tiny ones like these.

Day 120:

My friend Amanda posted a picture of the nails her daughter made for her -- for a library conference -- and I can't stop staring at this work of art. I love creative humans.

Day 121:

I found out that my debut parenting book got a starred review in Library Journal. And I know I should be above getting excited about a "gold star" -- but I've spent four years pouring my heart into this book and this is one of those things that *might* help it get into more libraries & more hands. So I'm letting myself feel that joy.

Day 122:

This quote from Maya Angelou:

Day 123:

Day 124:

My 13yo and I braved the crowds to take in Art in Bloom at the MFA in Boston — and it made me feel strangely hopeful that an art museum was drawing such crowds on a Sunday afternoon.

Day 125:

I got this text from a friend ❤️

“I don't know if I have told you this, but since you started your awe journaling, I've been trying to do my own! I don't nearly get a daily one but I do notice more thanks to you inviting me to this practice! Anyway, yesterday I saw a red-wing blackbird do a mating dance! It was so delightful and something I probably wouldn't have paid attention to without you!”

Day 126:

When I was working on a Fred Rogers’s tribute article for PBS, I spoke to a friend who had endured a childhood of abuse and poverty. She told me that Mister Rogers offered her a hand in the darkness during those years:

“I can’t even read his name without tearing up. During those rough years, Sesame Street taught me to read, and Mister Rogers taught me to hope.”

Day 127:

I got to attend an event honoring a group of Boston-area volunteers who mobilized in 2016 to help refugees find community and stability.  And that’s what they’ve continued to do for nearly 10 years. These aren’t paid professionals. These are good people who saw a need and stepped up.

Day 128:

The first four birds I heard on my walk this morning:  Baltimore oriole, worm-eating warbler, chipping sparrow, and red-winged blackbird. That’s pretty good company.

Day 129:

My neighbor got chickens, and they free range in the woods behind our house — and I love hearing their clucks and watching their two-year-old help herd them back inside in the evening.

Day 130:

I gave a parent talk this week based on my new book "Raising Awe-Seekers." It was virtual, so it's always hard to get a read of the room. But the organizers just sent me that survey comments and they included:

1) Thank you, it revived my hope in humanity.

2) Your wonder and awe of the subject matter is infectious. Thank you for sharing your joy.

Excuse me while I grab a tissue.

Day 131:

My dog, smiling in a patch of flowers.

Day 132:

Today I played with an impossibly cute 10-week-old puppy. Today I learned that a friend passed -- someone I reached out to just yesterday to wish a Happy Mother's Day. Life is so beautifully and terribly fragile.

Day 133:

I was driving my 11yo son and a friend home and told them they had control of the music. They picked the song "The Shire" from the Lord of the Rings. It's really something when your kids find friends who "get them."

I hope you are able to find your own tiny moments of wonder, even on life’s rainy days.

Cheers,

Deborah