We went swimming tonight, me and the kids, while Charlie went to her Aromatherapy night class.

Doesn't seem like much of an event, does it? But y'see, the thing is that in the past six years, I've only interacted with people outside the family in the evening a handful of times and almost never ventured out with the kids around dusk.

To me, it was a watershed. I feel like I'm finally getting some semblance of a social life back. And it's about time.

Not that it was easy - Bethan is a little adrenaline freak. She was just a tiny bit too small to go down the big water slide on her own, so I had to take her, so I had the great pleasure of listening to her scream and shriek in thrilled enjoyment through the bends and drops on the 30 second trip into the meter deep catch pool at the bottom. I'd go under and push myself back to my feet to check she's OK, only to find her already powering off to have another go. Nutter!

Allison, on the other hand,is a much calmer prospect. She just wants lessons, or to paddle around in the deep end, where I stand on tiptoe and wrestle the slightly worried kid from around my neck. But in her own way, that is a major achievement. I still can't believe how far she's come from the girl who'd freak out if some shower water got in her eyes just two weeks ago, and there she was tonight, happily trolling around in water that's a whole 18 inches too deep for her, splashing and bobbing around when the wave machine started and having a wonderful time.

I'm fucking knackered, they are too. But it's that really excellent knackered that comes from doing something really good together.

And just to add to the joy, the 70lbs I could do with losing is going fast!

Tomorrow should be an interesting day. For the first time in ages, we'll have the house to ourselves for a while. I know how I'd like to be spending the morning, but unfortunately, I think we'll probably spend it washing and mucking out the puppies before they go to their new home - the Blue Cross shelter in Bromsgrove, where they'll be cared for and only homed to people who've passed their stringent vetting procedures and stumped up £70. A much better prospect than if we tried to home them ourselves. Then in a few weeks, when we've paid off the mounting bills this month, Suki their mum is off to get neutered. No way we're going through that hassle again.

Ah, the mundane mediocrity of a normal life. It's eluded me for so long, it sounds like sheer nirvana.