Wonder

THE LULU CHRONICLES

Yesterday, LuLu and I took a ride down the road with Murphy Dog perched in the basket. I hadn’t given the little dog a bike ride in awhile but since he kept running circles around LuLu and me while we were still in the garage, he was just too cute to leave behind.

The minute we turned out of the driveway onto the lane, Murph got comfy and allowed the breeze to pin his ears back. He was King of the Road. He kept sniffing the air and wagging his tail and looking back at me as if to say, “Isn’t this the best! See that tree over there? I’ve never seen anything like it. And lookie there, brown grass! So cool! And, is that a buffalo I smell? I’m in heaven!” Talk about a joy ride. The pup was full of wonder.

I envied him. When was the last time I felt that kind of wonder? You know the “twinkle-twinkle-little-star-how-I-wonder-what-you-are kind of wonder. I had a dear friend named Gail. Gail was about fifteen years older than me but in ‘wonder years’ she was a perpetual ten-year-old. Everything gave her joy. Everything was meant to be savored. Her curiosity remained child-like her whole life. A budding flower in spring took her breath away. And, I loved to watch her eat because it was like her tongue and taste buds had a little party with every bite. Nothing was wasted on her. Cranberry pudding with warm butter sauce gave her excited shivers. Our last meal together before she died was at a Mexican restaurant. She was very ill but insisted we go out to lunch. She ordered cheesecake for dessert and practically licked the plate when she was done. In fact, she did run her finger along the edge and scooped up the last bit of chocolate sauce and made a great show of licking her fingers. She taught me many great things.

Yesterday, Murphy was acting like Gail. Every brown blade of grass, every whiff of something unseen, every tweet from a bird made his tail wag. If his little feet weren’t prancing in place, he was making excited, high-pitched grunts. He was in awe, and it was just a regular Wednesday.

Can I add another resolution to my list? Why not? It’s my blog, right? I am going to try my hardest to find something in everyday that makes me want to lick my fingers and prance a little with glee. I’m going to try and dust off my ‘wonder-meter’ and allow my breath to be taken away.

Are you game? I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

deb