Happiness

Simplicity is the secret recipe of happiness.

I remember a blog by my mentor who wrote about the way to make himself happy. He suggested to build happiness on something simple, regular and durable. That's why writing blog has become part of his everyday life.

For me, writing blog is fun but I don't do it daily. It turns out that preparing lunch box is much more regular and generates tremendous happiness for me, my wife and my daughter.

Preparing lunch for my daughter (who is now attending full day school)? Me? It's a pretty safe bet that my daughter would wince at it. First, a disclaimer. I am all thumbs when it comes to cooking. Whenever I told people that my daughter loves the lunch box that I prepare for her, I would typically get two reactions. The first was the natural and straightforward response. "Oh?" my friend would say. "I didn't know you can cook."

It was the second response that I found easier to answer.

"Oh, what did you put in her lunch box?"

It's no secret that my maid prepares the lunch food. One of the best-kept secrets about making the lunch box lively is that we add a handmade lunch box card each time. On the night before, my wife and I will take out colour pencils or watercolour brushes, scissors, paper and thermal laminator. Few things are easier than conjuring up the happy events with our daughter during the day, and few things are harder than picking only one of them to draw on the lunch box card. Crazy game that she invents, silly story that she loves, monkey bar that she is proud of, animals like cheetah or ladybird, and the list goes on and on.

The card reminds us how lovely our life can be, and lets my daughter remember our love forever.