Wonder

wonder [ˈwʌndə]

n

1. the feeling excited by something strange; a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and sometimes awe

2. something that causes such a feeling, such as a miracle

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Yesterday was an exciting day. My nephew and his beautiful wife had their first child. We went to see them and the new one in the family. One of these days Great-Uncle Tractor will have another little one to drive around the yard.

A cold front was pushing in, and we drove through scattered rain. As we crested one hill and an opening in the clouds revealed a piece of a rainbow. As it was a grey and dark day, the bit of color was quite unexpected. As we drove back home past the northern end of Seneca Lake, we drove by stately homes and vineyards. One stretch of the road was lined with maples. They were all yellow. The cold front brought strong winds, and the ground was covered in yellow leaves. It was a beautiful sight. As we drove further, we came across one vineyard whose vines were a deep red. I had never thought about the leaves of grapes changing colors like the other leaves during the fall. As we neared our house, we encountered another rainbow.

It amazed me we can experience wonder. Each of these scenes is readily explainable and a logical progression of the conditions. Of course you see rainbow when weather fronts collide, yellow-leafed trees will drop yellow leaves, the leaves of deciduous plants change color in the autumn. Still, we find wonder and awe in such occurences.

Of course the greatest source of wonder was the new baby. I watched my sister at her amazement of her grandson. I thought about the birth of my granddaughter and remembered how I felt. Right now there are now 6 billion people on this world, yet the addition of a single little one is still a wonder!

I hope we all find something wonderful each day of our lives.