As a single mum of three kids, I sometimes worry that I'm not providing enough 'magical' moments in their lives. I'm more focused on paying rent, feeding them, keeping them clean and happy, reading books, getting homework done and sparing some time for quiet cuddles at the end of the day.
I don't have the energy to arrange Easter bunny footprints through the house, fairies doors in the wall, or elves on shelves.
I'll be honest: they're really not my thing anyway. But I remember reading years ago that Spike Milligan's son truly believed there were fairies living in the bottom of his garden until he was 17 years old. He wasn't embarrassed about it – he thought it summed up the beautiful magic his dad brought to his life.
Me? I'm often tired, sometimes shouty, and pretty often overwhelmed. But I'm doing the best I can to keep my kids safe, healthy and loved.
But I have worried: am I robbing my kids of a magical life?
Then I watched this video by Esther Anderson of the YouTube Channel Story of This Life and it made me stop and pull my head out of my self-absorbed rump.
It made me look at our days through my kids' eyes. They don't need fairies, they see magic everywhere, and what I can do is make the best out of every day that we spend together. A lot of those days are just getting through the essentials but that's okay.
It's in those "mundane" activities we do with our kids that they can find their own kind of magic. My parents sure weren't focused on creating magic when I was a kid, but I have plenty of memories of finding it anyway. Now I realise my kids are doing the same thing.