There are moments in my single mum life I could wish myself away to another planet. You may be familiar with this feeling too. Like when the children don’t get on and I have to have more peace talks than the United Nations or when I not only singe tea but actually manage to cremate the last viable meal in the cupboards and we have to eat it. I sit there and wonder if I could feel any more of a failure. But then there are the moments that make your heart melt and your head dizzy with happiness. These moments may be brief and quick in passing but they make it all worthwhile.

Yesterday evening we realised we had forgotten to buy the advent calendars. Nothing new there for me. So off we went to the local supermarket to get advent calendars. Of course being the last to get them it was slim pickings. My son was happy to find a ‘Stars Wars’ one left but my daughter was faced with no advert calendar or resort to a ‘Night Garden’ advent calendar. Now any other young teenager would probably throw a hissy fit as the indignation of it. Mine though collapsed into giggles. Laughter is contagious and before long we all were laughing, at what I will probably never know, but we stood there laughing.

With advent calendars in hand we headed to the Christmas decorations as this year I appear to have a fixation with purple baubles. I want my tree this year to ooze sophistication and designer twee. So purple baubles it just has to be. We are hit by more giggles at the realisation that purple just isn’t to be had. Not giving up we check out the DIY shops. Now this sounds so silly I cant even believe I am putting the words down, the three of us still full of giggles played with every rocking Rudolph and chuckling Santa we could find. We dressed up in the tinsel and hung baubles off our ears. We just simply had fun. No expense spent no reason why but just enjoyed all being together laughing like loons amongst the tinsel and decorations. My daughter innocently summed it up with the words ‘the three musketeers in search of purple baubles’.

It’s those sort of moments that I couldn’t of planed or orchestrate that make me realise I love my life with my two giggling musketeers.