Entry for 28th November, 2008 - Unexpected Elephants

One of the great things about having kids is that you experience little moments of happiness that almost make you want to burst with the utter joy of life. I got it tonight, walking around the block hand in hand in the sunshine with my two kids who were positively squealing with pleasure.
Sometimes I try to burn these moments into my memory, so that I can call them back when I am feeling blue, or when I am old and failing. It never works though. The memories are little shadows of the real thing. It is like being on a train that stops every so often at a station where there’s a brass band playing on the platform. Or a man on his own flying a kite. Or an elephant.
The stories you tell about it later are never as vivid as your first encounter with an unexpected elephant.