Being someone who loves family and stories, I find genealogical research enticing. As a teenager I helped my grandmother organize the materials she’d collected over years of long distance correspondence and visits to institutions. Today I can sit at my desk and view one hundred and twenty year-old records from towns half way across the world, see photographs of boats my ancestors traveled on with all their worldly belongings to start a new lives in distant lands, and find records that reveal relatives we didn’t know about or only suspected existed. Through these resources my family has reconnected with many dear cousins. We recently discovered a whole branch of our family that had been completely lost and were able to tell them about the origins of a grandmother/great-grandmother they knew almost nothing about—other than her good reputation and first name, which two of them share.

Potsdam Steamship

The ease at which I can access documents from distant times and places amazes me.

Thank you, scanners, information collectors, and genealogy web site creators.

A little over a week ago something happened that amazed me, but not in the positive way I usually write about here. More in the horrified way. I learned, that a preschool classmate of my son’s has had a relapse of cancer. Baylor, now a 7-year old second grader, missed months of Kindergarten in the hospital getting chemotherapy. The cancer seemed to be beat, and he went back to his life as a healthy, basketball-playing, sweet boy, brother, son, family member, and friend.

Now he’s had a relapse and needs a bone marrow transplant. His ancestry is Japanese/German, and so a match is most likely to be someone of Asian/Caucasian descent. There are no matches within his family. He’s back in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy and waiting for a match.

Alongside this situation that no one would choose, something of the uplifting sort of amazing stands: the power of community. I saw people respond so quickly to this situation (and I know I’m not seeing it all). Within days people were bringing the family meals and groceries, offering moral support, and setting up bone marrow drives. Getting out the word to find Bay a match has spread person to person, community to community, far and wide. A Match for Bay, a Facebook page that didn’t exist a week ago, has over 1200 likes. A press release posted on Facebook this morning was shared 36 times in its first hour up. When I’ve posted and emailed about the situation, friends and acquaintances who don’t even know Bay share. I hate that this is happening to this dear boy and his family, but am heartened to see how quickly and strongly we can take action for one another.

So let’s celebrate the power of community, and while we’re at it, please help find a match to save this precious boy’s life—all it takes is a test swab in the cheek to find out if someone is a match. The information is in the poster below, plus more Northern California bone marrow drives are listed at the Asian American Donor Program website.

Thank you, communities. Thank you, helpers. Thank you, those who ask for help.

Update 6/21/2014: Baylor still urgently needs a bone marrow match. Volunteers are needed at bone marrow drives as well. Please share and help. Current information is at: A Match for Bay

I went to the El Cerrito Plaza farmer’s market today. I can report that here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the season of abundant variety of fruits and vegetables is here. There were purple and white onions, orange and red beets–all looking shiny-fresh with green leaves attached.  The sugar snap peas and fava beans were big, almost bursting with peas and beans. Nectarines, peaches, and zucchini have arrived.

How amazing that these plants that were little seeds a few months ago are available for us to eat now.

Thank you, farmers. Thank you, plants. Thank you, earth, water, and sun.

photograph by David Silver, detail

by Karin Fisher-Golton

My son’s class trip, which I mentioned in yesterday’s post, is to Yosemite Valley. We parents received a much-appreciated report late last night. Part of the news was that the children were taking in the scenery and that when they arrived in the valley there were gasps and screaming about how beautiful it was.

photograph by Johan Viirok

I could relate. I know the feeling of turning a corner and seeing scenery so awesome that it literally takes my breath away. How amazing that our Earth has such places–and really so many of them.

For me those include Yosemite Valley, Yellowstone Falls, the Grand Canyon, Mt. McLoughlin in southern Oregon, Cannon Beach in Oregon, some coral reefs off the coasts of Hawaii. What are some breathtaking places for you?

Thank you, earth, glaciers, water, and wind.

by Karin Fisher-Golton

This morning my nine-year-old son left on a class trip, his first trip without family. Last year at this time I remember watching the third graders preparing to board their bus with a tight stomach. I couldn’t imagine my son doing such a thing.

One year later, this morning, we said our goodbyes. We were both fine. We’d prepared, we’d talked, but mostly what had happened was that a year passed–he was older, and he was ready.

This reminded me of an earlier time, at his preschool end-of-year camp out. He was standing by the fire, watching it with a friend, and I was sitting with adult friends several yards away. I realized that even six months before I’d have been right next to him by the fire, probably holding on tight–I wouldn’t have trusted he’d stay safe. But at that camp out, I was confident he wouldn’t stick a hand in the fire.

We grow, we get ready. Sometimes through our efforts and sometimes just because of time. It can happen to adults, too. And I think it’s amazing.

Thank you, time. Thank you, we people with the ability to change.

by Karin Fisher-Golton

I’ve been noticing lately how amazing it is that writing–this set of lines and curves you see on your screen–is used to communicate so much.

Following a quick bit of research (accomplished via no more than twenty-six letters and a few punctuation helpers), I’m able to confirm my guess that writing was originally used for record keeping. It evolved into so much more. There are various alphabets and other types of written language systems. People can learn to read by feeling raised dots.

Whatever the system, so many of us have first learned the code, then slowly began to make out words, and at some point started to just read. We can connect with friends near and far, people we’ve never met, even people who have passed from this Earth but left words behind. Through written language we can give and receive education, entertainment, inspiration, laughter, tears, conflict, resolution, community.

Thank you, letters. Thank you, words. Thank you, human language abilities.

by Karin Fisher-Golton

For my second Amazing May post, I want to tell you about my “go to” amazing thing, and that is the simple and amazing ability to see colors. Really I could say that about an aspect of any of the five senses, but I’ll focus on seeing, and seeing colors in particular.

One day about fifteen years ago, I was feeling discouraged. One of those times I was so low, just picking up my feet and moving forward seemed daunting. Sitting with that, I glanced out my window and saw my neighbors’ bougainvillea–brilliant fuchsia, glowing in the sun. The beauty of that color went right in. It truly brightened my day. I got how amazing it is just to be able to see color.

Photo by Forest & Kim Starr

Many times since then when I’ve felt low, I’ve looked up, let my eyes land on a color, and let it sink in what an amazing thing that is. Sometimes I do it other times too. There are a lot of amazing colors out there.

Thank you, eyes. Thank you, bougainvillea. Thank you, color.

Do you have any colors that stand out to you? Do you have something else you notice with one of your senses that lifts your spirit?

by Karin Fisher-Golton

Welcome to My Amazing Day Blog!

In honor of all that is amazing around us, large and small, I am launching this blog with a month of a daily posts–each about something amazing. Happy Amazing May!

I’d love to hear from you and hope you will add your thoughts in the comments section below and/or let us know what you find amazing on any of these Amazing May days.

I’m going to start with my inspiration for the text of My Amazing Day–the quality of wonder in babies and toddlers. When Elizabeth and Lori asked me to join them in creating a book about gratitude for babies and toddlers, not only was I excited by the opportunity to work with those two talented women, but I loved the notion of gratitude for that audience because babies’ and toddlers’ quality of wonder is intertwined with gratitude for me.

When I feel gratitude, particularly for the simple, basic, and by that I mean stupendous, things in life, I often find myself tapped into very young people’s wonder. I’m talking about the way they might need to stop everything to stare at a snail because, wow, look at that spirally shelled slow thing and its wet head with two things waving on top. Or the way a parent can interrupt a growing upset by shaking a rattle and offering it. Hey! That makes a noise! I can hear all the clattery goodness and even better I can shake it and make that excellent noise myself! When I notice how amazing it is that I can see the color orange or feel soft cotton sheets or bite into an apple to find crunchy sweetness, and then feel gratitude, I experience those things as if they were new and surprising.

Thank you, babies and toddlers for inspiring us with your wonder and reminding us how amazing the world is.