Do you ever stop yourself in the middle of your life and realise that what you're experiencing is a perfect, joyous moment – the kind of moment that you've always want to be part of who you are.
My weekend, despite also featuring something of a dramatic emergency – which I may relate at some point later – though perhaps it's not my tale to tell, featured many of these perfect moments.
When there are good things ahead it is often all too easy to gaze forward and wish your current minutes, hours, days, weeks and months away. We all do it, looking at milestones in the year ahead and wanting to draw them closer.
But the weekend reminded me of the joy in the present now. Life is full of very simple but powerful pleasures.
I was struck by this at lunchtime on Saturday, sat outside a cafe reading the paper and enjoying lunch with the three very special people I love dearly. This was a simple and perfect moment.
It was also a weekend where things also got done. The twins nursery now looks great, well ordered and a joy to be in – though it would be rather uncharitable to claim any more than ten percent of the credit.
I've been inspired by the effort though and am itching for work to finish today to apply some effort to sorting out my bedroom to a similar degree. My flat is still full of boxes never unpacked and I need to shift them into the loft to make some space and create a home I can be proud of rather than a little embarrassed by.
It could be tricky, moving stuff into the loft is really a two-person job – but there's something about my mood today that means I just want to get things sorted instead of spending an evening in front of the TV.
The fact is my life needs downsizing, it's full of too many items that I neither want nor need, but boxes have followed me through three moves since I left Manchester in 2005. I don't really have any strong ties to Shenfield now and I know that when it comes time to move on, as I assuredly will, then I have no wish to cart around this detritus again.
Even the twins have too much stuff, so much that I think I could probably clothe them for months without ever needing to do any laundry.
Will I actually achieve anything this evening? I have no idea. But I know I'll enjoy the effort, joined as I will be with memories of simple perfect moments and a weekend that was an unexpected blessed gift, with joy born out of a drama and the smiles those nearest and dearest.
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