Serendipity is such a lovely word. It was coined in the 1700s by an author after reading a Persian fairy tale involving characters constantly stumbling on things and knowing that they weren't actually looking for, but were nonetheless very valuable. 

I have a pet betta fish named Swim Shady. He's a wonderful little beasty, but we didn't set out to have a betta fish. The road to having him in our life started with a friend of a friend of yet another friend... hiring me to do a painting of a betta fish. This painting in fact! After hearing me mention I had wanted to have some kind of leafy and watery habitat in my studio, she mentioned that she breeds betta, and suggested we set up a tank for one. 

It was one of the best decisions we ever made and had the inadvertent side effect of helping to steady my sleep schedule. It's important to have a day and night rhythm of lighting for the fish, so having to turn off the studio lights on a regular schedule keeps me from working longer than I should. Bonus effect from meeting the betta lady!  

Jessica Douglas