How would you react to your best friend telling you she was pregnant?

Holy crap, Amy!  Who's the father?  You're freakin' forty-two years old!  Why would you do this?  How can you even...  I mean...  Okay, I'll ask.  How can you even hope to pay for a kid right now?  Wait!  Where are you even going to put it?

Geez.  No.  Seriously.  You live in a one-room apartment over a garage.  You barely have room for your cats, so how will a baby and all its stuff fit in there?  Hold on a moment...

When did this happen?  I mean, when are you due?  Have they been able to tell you about this baby yet?  Is it...okay?  I know we're not ancient yet, but, still, the odds of genetic disorders goes up.  And since when were you regular enough to even get pregnant?  What are the odds of that?  Alright, back to the genetic thing.  Is the baby okay?  Can they tell?

No, wait.  Go back further than that.  Who's the father?  How did you...  Who did you...  When did you...  Was it...natural?  Did you purchase a...um...donor?  Does the guy know?  Will you tell him?

Yeah, you're right, I think I'm hyperventilating.  I've got to find a paper bag.  Hold on...

Okay.  I'm back.  While I'm breathing here, you tell me.

Uh huh.

You only have how long left?  That'll be this year!  Okay...  Breathing.

Uh huh.

No, I don't remember you telling me.

Uh huh.  Well, I don't check Facebook regularly so I didn't...

Uh huh.

Okay, that's good.  But what about...

Uh huh.  And your parents are alright with that?

Ha!  I'll bet they did!  Was it your mom or your dad who...

Oh, my God.  Well, that's good, I guess.  Okay.  Hey, can you paint your old room purple again?  Ha!

Uh huh.  You're naming it what?

Weren't those your cats' names?

Ha!  You can't do that!  Do your parents know those were your cats' names?  Ha!

Huh.  Well, all right.  It sounds like you have it all planned out.  That's good.  I'm just so shocked.  I thought it would be you and me who never had kids.  Now it's just me, I guess.

No.  He's had a vasectomy.  Unless a miracle occurred between the tubes, it's not happening.

Yeah, well, I guess yours is a miracle.  Congratulations, Amy.  Hey--at least it's not twins!

What?!?

If you could change one thing in the world, what would you change and why?

It was nearly Pandemic Day and we were very excited because this was the Bicentennial and it was going to be extra special.

What have you done to make a difference in someone's life in the past three days?

As we grow older, it becomes harder to feel the mystery and wonder we had as children.  It is not, however, a result of having grown out of the need for desire for mystery and wonder; it is, rather, that adults have far more practical experience.  Practical experience answers questions, and it also implants fear, worry, jealousy, and other negative emotions.  Adults become so wrapped up in the day-to-day that they push out mystery and wonder.

Many people believe that children have some special ability to appreciate mystery and feel wonder, but that is untrue.  Children simply have no bills to pay, no work life to balance, comparatively weak social pressures, and little imagination when it comes to "things that can go wrong and leave us homeless and hungry".  Adults have the exact same ability they always had, but their mystery is "How will I make it through the end of the month?" and their wonder is "I wonder if that spot is cancer?"

What adults need to do is to cultivate the mystery and wonder they once felt and use it to live a more exciting inner life.  One way we are helping to instill this kind of mystery and wonder in random adults is through The Tiny Art Project.

The Tiny Art Project is where we create tiny pieces of art, any medium, and putting it into tiny frames (2" or smaller.)  These tiny frames can be pinned or stuck in unlikely public places where adults can see the art, appreciate the beauty, wonder how it was made, and marvel in the mystery of how it got there and why anyone would do such a thing.