On any given day in the life of our family, I know there will be meals to make and rooms to clean and schedules to tackle, but also stories to hear and silliness to get lost in. I know there will be laundry to do and a laundry list of other to-dos, but also hands to hold and hearts to nurture. I know there will be a lot to pour into, all the ways I will be asked to fill in the gaps, but also moments of surprise and delight. Routines, but also moments that cut right through them. Which is to say, that on any given day there will be handfuls of moments so ordinary you forget there are also, always, squeezed into the cracks moments of absolute wonder.
I wish I could tell you that I’ve always been good at remembering to look for the wonder in the everyday, that I’ve always inherently known to slow down and take in the harder-to-reach moments of beauty and surprise that are all around. That version of me I used to only see in glimpses, now and again. In small bursts of inner rebellion against time and its constant game of hide and seek. Sure, I could remember the years when wonder could spread like wildfire in my eyes. But then, somewhere along the way to becoming a grown up, I got busy and distracted and I simply forgot to look closely.
Then, six years ago came my son Crew. He arrived like a gust of wind—the strength of something that could change the direction I was headed in. In the years since, Crew has changed my heart from the inside out. Time and again, he has grabbed my hand and walked me back to seeing things the way I once could. It’s amazing to me how Crew’s whole life perspective is so entirely without pretense—all kids seem to be built this way. With Crew, he admires not just the flowers when we take a walk through the garden, but the dirt and soil they grow from. When my mind is quick to speed ahead, Crew pulls me back in, helping me see how even the tiniest wonders can be worthy of our time. His natural curiosity can draw out my own, and whenever I sense that old tendency to give into hurry, he is there to remind me of the small joys that can only be noticed in pause.
What I see when I look closely at Crew is a boy so curious, so full of adventure, so unbelievably delighted by the world he lives in that it makes me want to live this way too. His eyes are always wide open, expectant for wonder. This book is my love letter to him. A thank you for all the times he has walked me back to the richer side of life. It’s a love letter to every kid who believes there are always miracles to catch, and always surprises hiding in plain sight. And I wrote it with all the hope in the world that they may never stop chasing both with a heart full of abandon. But I also wrote it for me, and for all of the moms and dads and caregivers who might need a reminder that wonder awaits them too.
I believe that we, too, can be wonder chasers. That we, too, are born explorers. And that it’s never too late. We have not missed our chance to seek wonder and share it with each other. I hope this book is a reminder for us all to never give up our curious spirit or outgrow our sense of imagination.
Because the world needs the wonder we see!
Love, Joanna
More Adventures Await
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