The dictionary defines “wonder” as a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.  I snapped this pic of my little one on the fly and I was struck by the look of wonder in her eyes, radiating even through her beautiful little face.  The above definition aptly captures all I felt in her when I saw this picture.  In Dallas, snow is a rarity; therefore I submit it is a cause for joy — no matter what your age.  I understand people who live where there is pervasive snow may view it as a nuisance.  But for those of us down south and to the west; I think it is almost always viewed as a wondrous thing.  For over two hours we watched huge Charlie Brown-type snowflakes continuously come down.  You could actually catch them on your tongue, which we did.  It did not stick because we did not get below freezing … but what a delight it was to watch them softly fall, bringing with it a sense of hope.  After all the ugliness and hardship of this past year it seemed like a gift from God — quietness and purity to blanket things in peace.  I think we may have had as much as three inches if it had actually stuck.  I realize that is nothing to Northerners.  As I have gotten to travel as an adult, I decided never to be reserved about my sense of wonder.  For instance, several years ago we went to a beach in South Carolina and I absolutely fell in love with this gorgeous yellow land crab!  So much so that the picture I took of her is framed in our guest bathroom.  I had no IDEA there were land crabs; I thought they only lived in the ocean.  The locals looked at me with equal degrees of shock, humor, and a non-judgmental form of knowingness as I shrieked and followed her movements.  Something ordinary for them was extraordinary for me.  The American journalist and author Susan Orlean said, “A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.”  The older I get, the more I learn — but, most importantly, the more I am graced with a sense of wonder.