I’m committed to putting more WOW! Moments in my life, which means intentionally adding them and recognizing the ones that happen organically. I thought it would help if I shared them here weekly. Here are five WOWs that happened last week:

1. I played in the rain. I tend to be a doer. To-do lists are my love language. What I struggle with is just being. From my terrace, I saw a storm rolling in with dark clouds moving across the sky and decided to do something out of character for me. I went outside and stood in the rain for several minutes, connecting with my five senses. 

2. I created an alter ego. I attended a workshop led by Meg Niman where I learned about the power of alter egos. I cried during one powerful exercise when I realized that I can be whatever and whoever I want to be. In fact, I already am.

3. I tried a new food. I tend to be a predictable eater, sticking to the same favorite foods and rarely trying something new. My son Nick likes to shop at the international food market in his town, trying something new and unusual. I went to a market near me and bought a dragon fruit. It’s beautiful, but it had less flavor than I expected. While I wouldn’t buy it again to eat on its own, I think it would look amazing in a fruit salad.

4. I went to see Barbie alone. I’ll admit that being on assignment for Fast Company helped me get the courage to go solo, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was also quite moved by the film, and cried when Ken shares that he doesn’t know who he is without Barbie. Writing about the movie also helped me pay closer attention, although it wasn’t hard to be drawn in by the plot and acting.

5. I let something sink in. I’m watching And Just Like That on HBO Max and finding a lot of Carrie’s experience relatable. In a recent episode, she says, “I thought that over time, my grief would shrink. That it wouldn’t fill every inch of me like it had for so long. My sadness never shrank, but I grew and grew until I was so large, the grief just felt smaller. And then I realized it was time. You don’t move on because you’re ready to. You move on because you’ve outgrown who you used to be.” I paused this part and replayed it over and over because it made me say, “WOW!”

What WOWs did you have this week?