Yesterday, the plan was set! In the latest episode of ‘Rodger the Dodger,’ my famously stubborn husband (who could give even the most relentless MI5 agent a run for their money) has made it his mission to still go on our summer holiday. Never mind the minor detail that his surgery is scheduled for the very day after the holiday begins, priorities, darling!

Picture this: Matthew, armed with nothing but a mental notebook, a stubborn arse glint in his eye, and a mug of tea, gathering his Mum-sie Bear (A.K.A Mer and Pam) for a covert meeting in her back garden. Overnight, her flowers and plants were transformed into a scene straight out of a 007 film. A place where garden gnomes might actually be undercover agents. Agent Poppy, Mer’s Springer-poo, hung on every word of Rodger’s master-plan, ears at full mast, while Agent Megan, her Laba-doodle, looked at him as if he’d finally lost the plot. (To be fair, it wouldn’t be the first time.)

And the plan? Simple, really. We are charging ahead with the holiday. Once we’ve managed to get Matthew safely through the door of the holiday cottage, he can collapse in the peaceful embrace of the countryside, no noise, no New Pasture Estate chaos, just fresh air and the dulcet tones of me and two slightly judgemental dachshunds side-eyeing me the whole week. In all honesty, I’m quite grateful for his stubbornness. The prospect of a week surrounded by nature, writing my next book, and tending to my husband as he recuperates in beautiful surroundings feels like a true gift.

There’s something about facing scary moments like this in life, when the script takes an unexpected twist,  that peels away your tolerance for nonsense. It’s as if you’re handed a new pair of glasses and suddenly, everything looks different. You realise that nothing else truly matters except for life itself, the preciousness of it, with all its unpredictability. There are no guarantees, no promises about how long we get to indulge in this remarkable gift.

So we make every moment count. And in the end, the greatest power in the world is love. As the old saying goes: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” It’s a reminder to savour every moment, to laugh at your own madcap MI5 operations, and to hold your loved ones (and your slightly barmy husband) close.

Because if there’s a secret to life, it’s this: don’t dodge the present, cherish it!

With Love

Kate x