I'd taken a few minutes to steal away from everyone.
Just me and my book. I'm a big re-reader of books. My husband thinks it's odd that I would want to read the same book over and over again, but I find a delicious familiarity in revisiting words, pages and stories.
This may make me weird, but I'm okay with that.
So I was on the beach with the biography of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and blithely ignoring the rapidly arriving clouds in the sky.
I'm also the eternal optimist. I was going to keep reading out there until the first raindrops fell.
A human sized shadow loomed over me and I sighed inwardly. Clearly break-time was over.
It was my darling Miss Medium.
"Can we build sandcastles mum?"
Another deep inward sigh.
But in fairness I'd read the book before and this was clearly going to be the chance for some special time with my daughter. Now she is in school full time, any moments I get where it's just her and me are important.
So I agreed.
I gave her my book to take back to our little hut and she skipped off to get her bucket and spade.
She came back with two little giggling girls in tow. I had suddenly become surplus to requirements.
And the sting was mighty.
I sat there on the sand watching them. They debated the merits of which fairy was the best one to be. The rainbow and tooth fairy were nominated joint first winners.
And then suddenly the two little girls flitted off. They'd been called in for lunch.
She looked at me lovingly and gestured to the unfinished castle.
We worked together on completing it. I listened closely as she chattered away.
I may no longer be her everything.
But I will always count for something.
That means the world to me.