Almost a year ago, I wrote about what E.B. White advised: Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder. Still such good advice given these uncertain days.

In the past year, then, what have I experienced that made me shut my mouth in astonishment?  Books are a primary source; so is my silly old self.

On the Lookout for the Presence of Wonder

I’ve read a couple of books; one made a deep impression,  The Woman Who Smashed Codes. It fit well with the deepening conviction of how much I owe to extraordinary people who were curious, dedicated, and brave.

Also, the 75^thanniversary of D-Day filled me with the presence of wonder. Again it is because of the skill, courage, and sacrifices so many people made that I have what I have, and you do, too, dear reader.

I am almost finished rereading The Greater Journey  by David McCullough. It is one fine book, reminding me how many lives, I knew nothing about.  Yet, there they were – traveling, learning, mastering, and making wonderful art, music, inventions, and adventures. This survey of Americans who went to Paris in the 19^thcentury  is replete with the dreams and passions; joys and sorrows of so many who wanted to and did change their world;  mostly young men and women who aimed to be excellent.

“George P. A. Healy; “I knew no one in France, I was utterly ignorant of the language, I did not know what I should do when once there; but I was not yet one-and-twenty, and I had a great stock of courage, of inexperience—which is sometimes a great help—and a strong desire to be my very best.” 

I am  sorry to be finishing their grand stories, again.

On a lighter note, may I commend About My Mother: True Stories of a Horse-Crazy Daughter and Her Baseball-Obsessed Mother: A Memoirby Peggy Rowe?

Now, not all my keeping an outlook for the presence of wonder is so highfalutin as these book reviews.

I think it is a wonder I have stuck with the “diet” for eleven weeks, now. And no, I am not a size two. Nor, do I have any photos of me modeling too big clothes. No, the scale descends about as fast as a snail’s pace on an asphalt driveway.

Maybe that’s not the presence of wonder Mr. White had in mind.

But in today’s corner of my autumn’s garden, little puzzlements keep me occupied for longer than they should.

For instance, I wonder why Trader Joe’s has not restocked the butterscotch bit bars that I so wanted to buy at the beginning of this revamped eating plan. I knew they’d run out! But, God may have had a hand in hiding them from me, because those ounces are so slowly disappearing.

Another wonder that I wonder is why I never have my Fitbit on, on the days I run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Maybe, that’s because hysteria isn’t really a workout for anybody but the people around me.

Speaking of those people, Doug found a meme that so summarizes the lay of the land in an autumn’s garden.  I think about it everything I am about to wax philosophical.

from Not the Former Things

.Since a long sleep is not always a given, I am enjoying the laugh.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. ~Irish Proverb