Wouldn't it be great if it was like this all the time

Yesterday was one of those magic days that grace us every so often. We just had an easy time and enjoyed each other's company.

I knew it would be a good day from the start. We ate breakfast together; Duncan doesn't usually want to sit with us. Yesterday he wanted bacon and eggs (like in Thomas Comes to Breakfast) and ended up eating 4 eggs (no yolks). He's still so thin and wiry that I'm happy to see some protein getting in there.

Later I had a long bath, and was joined for a while by Thomas, who, as usual, had a great philosophical conversation with me. He's still very interested in the whole topic of life and death and has loads of questions about it all. He was also talking about how he'd be a daddy when he grows up. I asked him how many children he would have, he said, '42...or maybe 3.' He decided that if he had lots of children, he have to buy a castle to live in and then he'd be 'King Daddy.'

For the next few hours, the children played with the trains, Lady watched Bugsy Malone, I read a few stories to the boys and Gordon cooked a big batch of tomato sauce.

Late in the afternoon, we drove to a shopping centre and Gordon bought some clothes for work. I got a large bag of cashew nuts and Duncan stuffed handfuls into his pocket and ate them on the go. We had a look in the toy shop for the Thomas wind-up train he wants. They didn't sell it. He was disappointed, but I told him I would get it on the internet and he was happy with that. Then we went to Mc D's and Lady wanted a meal with the toy so she could get this little music player thing. It plays just one song, but she thinks it's so cool. She said she's now 'a girls-out-loud' fan, (they're usually known as Girls Aloud).

On the way home, we stopped off at a playground. It's right beside the beach, and there are great views over the lough. We were in time to see a massive cruise ship sail by. It was windy, and getting late by then, so there weren't many other people around. For the last 10 minutes, we had the place to ourselves. Gordon and me so wished we had taken the camera. The children had a fantastic time. They all went on the aerial runway, and they're strong wee scoots. Watching them whizz along with a huge gin on their faces and the wind in their hair, I was so happy and proud of them.

As we went back home, we talked about what a great day we'd had. The words of that great Van Morrison song, Coney Island, came into my head and I said to Duncan, 'did you have fun today?' 'Yes, fun today.' What else do I need to know.