HOL Ravenclaw

One hobby of mine that I absolutely love and that brings me joy in the form of a smile is painting wooden shapes. I'm by no means a skilled painter, which is why I need shapes to help me out. However, I try to put my own creative twist on it if I feel capable, and it wouldn't completely destroy the look. It's overall a calming activity that I try to do near holidays. Sometimes, I keep them for myself; more often than not, I use them to decorate some family gravestones since I know my family visits more often than I do, and I want to give them something more meaningful to look at and serve as a way of remembrance.

Something that always makes me smile is remembering a trip to the zoo with my kids. We had planned the whole day around seeing the big animals and the kids were full of energy and excitement. Everyone assumed the highlights would be the monkeys or maybe the sea lion. But as we wandered through the insect and reptile house, one of the kids stopped and became completely fascinated by a spider in one of the enclosures. They stood there, completely focused, watching it move slowly across its web. While most of the group had already moved on, he stayed back, totally absorbed, pointing things out and clearly loving every second. I hadn’t expected a spider to be his favourite part, since he's a really shy and reserved kid. It was such a simple moment, but so genuine.