A few weeks ago I was in Florida, visiting my children. After some discussion we agreed to go to the Florida Museum of Natural History, about a half hour away in Gainesville. The y have a rainforest exhibit there. That might seem a bit unnecessary for children and a father who have spent hours and days in El yunque rainforest, but actually the background may heighten appreciation. This is a perfect little rainforest, and we spent two hours in it, until they kicked us out. It is full of growth, and especially butterflies and more butterflies, of all shapes and colors. A student came to release some of them during our visit, and he explained how they are shipped in from various countries on a regular basis, tended in the museum and then released into this contained environment. The wonder of seeing these amazing creatures, of being close to them, the pleasure it brought to my teenage children, was memorable. Then we went to have pizza ata very cool place in town.
Not long after, I was in Monterrey, Mexico on a work trip. As we moved around the city it was unexpected to see butterflies flying by. Butterfies mobbing a bunch of flowers, butterflies drifting through the old downtown, butterflies outside the windows as we waited for our flight at the airport.
These are the wonders of daily living, maybe the wonders we appreciate as visitors who see a place anew. Keep your eyes open, draw things into your life and then share them, it's a world of wonders and they are only there if you see them.
