Perfect Sunday?

Sometimes the world just presents you with a day that makes all the other days of discomfort worth suffering through. Every so often, the clouds of personal pain will lift and the people and places around you will make you so glad you are still alive that every atom in your body is dripping with gratitude and chockful of love. And the strange thing is, they're not normally the big, all-encompassing, full-on days where it's a big birthday or a trip to a concert or something, they're normally simple little things like an afternoon in a beautiful garden, a walk through a sunlit meadow, or a play on the beach with your family. Or, as was the case for me yesterday, all three of those things on the same day. We were invited to a lovely little 'garden party with barbecue' in which the hosts wanted to show off their lovely new decking and summer house, which made me bristle a little as I hate talking to people about what they have done to their homes recently, but I have to confess it was delightful. About 20 guests, all different ages, all very personable, all mucking in together by bringing different food and then helping to prepare it and serve it. Not just one person or one couple having to do everything for everybody else and trying to achieve the status of 'perfect hosts'. And it was so lovely. So relaxed. And because everyone was involved, you automatically chatted to more people and the conversation flowed, so I was able to avoid those stereotypical banal topics such as 'What do you?', 'Where do you live?' and 'What do you drive?' which really are the anti-Rory soul-destroying trifecta tropes that make me want to pick up a salad spoon and drive it through my own amygdala.
So there was none of that, thankfully.
And I have to say the food was excellent.
Then some of us took a bit of a stroll across a nearby area of farmland (sticking to designated footpaths, I assure you) admiring the stunning wildflowers and the multitude of butterflies and dragonflies that alighted upon them. Mathew loved chasing the insects, without ever being cruel in attempting to stop their progress and without ever intending to catch them or cause them harm. He was just appreciating their beauty and interacting with them, which is wonderful.
After a late afternoon drink in the garden, we drove to the coast for an evening stroll and paddled and built sandcastles and generally had a lovely, lovely time.
Father's Day does seem to be getting better and better as my boys get older and older, and yesterday will take some beating.

RC 16-6-25