In our Mother's Day Pop Up Shop, we added a casserole baking dish with a "recipe for happiness" beautifully etched into it. It was a fun project to make. We designed the graphic with a stencil type of font so that there would be less mistakes when pulling the letters out of the vinyl. Keep all those inner bits of a's and o's and g's in there. But also, we didn't want it to look stencil-y. We used a lint roller as a kind of sticky bin as we pulled each letter out. The end result after using Etchall on the pyrex dish was really cool.
It got me to thinking about happiness and what that means in life. Different for everyone, I suppose. But when I am focused on a goal, no matter how large or small, that is what brings about my happiness. Some days my only goal may be finishing a Netflix series, because I need those kind of days. Those small goals are what helps me find the energy to do the big goals.
Emily's journey has been a long uphill one. She started from zero- from near death and that is no exaggeration. I am so very proud of how many goals she has met. Has she found happiness in them? She has found satisfaction, strength, and a belief in herself that she never knew she had before.
She and I differ in the happiness part of it all though. I suspect it is our age difference. She still sees a lot that she does not have, I am grateful for all that I have. If there were one thing I could teach to my children it would be how to let your goals be your happy place, they are not your short-comings. Do not despair that they are not complete, find happiness in the work it takes to achieve them.
Yesterday, I found happiness in making that casserole dish. Researching the method, planning the steps I needed to take to make it, carefully pulling each letter out, pouring out the etching cream, setting the timer, hoping for the best as I washed away the bits and goo of my work, and seeing the beautiful final product. Pure happiness.
