My partner, Julie, is away on a short break to Prague, leaving me and our seven year old daughter free to misbehave to our hearts content.
At age seven, every day is a great adventure to Josie, and she wakes early each morning full of excitement and vitality, looking forward to the day ahead. Her enthusiasm is quite infectious, to the extent that I find myself looking forward to doing the simplest and most mundane of activities too.
Today we were excited about making pancakes. Here in the UK many people still follow the tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, pancakes are rarely eaten at any other time of year, and Josie took responsibility for the mixing bowl while I risked personal injury by attempting to toss pancakes from a large, hot frying pan.
Of course we weren't just cooking pancakes, we were top chefs in a busy restaurant (Josie shouting out orders) "Two more pancakes for table 5!" etc.
I wouldn't say we made great pancakes but Josie reckons they're the best she's had!
Taking a lead from her mother, Josie has already mastered the art of "bossing" in the kitchen, making sure that I dry the dishes properly before putting them away, and ensuring that the worktops are free of any pancake debris before allowing me to sit down at the computer for 5 minutes. I see a future in management for her!
Tomorrow I'm taking her out for dinner, she's busy deciding what to wear as I type and I wouldn't be at all suprised if she hasn't decided what shirt I'll be wearing too.
Julie returns on Saturday morning and, although I miss her, I'm having a great time doing the ordinary, everyday stuff that us grown-ups do mechanically and without thought, because my companion still sees the magic of just being alive.