As if all the rooftops in our town were fairy cakes, one cold night, God decided to finish them all off with a dusting of icing sugar.

The following morning, the whole town was cloaked in nature’s glitter. Sparkling spider webs adorning shrubs, solid blades of grass welcoming the lick from the morning sunshine, piles of thick fresh snow waiting to be crunched and rolled into snowmen.

After a dull, blustery Saturday where no one in the family seemed at all happy, that morning was like a breath of fresh seaside air filling our lungs. Even Dave, who had been in a stupor all week from a hard slog at work, yelped at the sight of the glittering chimneys.

‘We need to get out before it melts!’ he shrieked. He bounded into the boys’ room like an excited Labrador about to be taken for a walk, and the next thing I heard was the mini shrieks of Dave’s offspring. ‘Snow!!’ they all sang.

‘Shouldn’t we have breakfast first?’ I called.

‘No time for that!’ Dave boomed, prancing into the room with each pink-cheeked child on either side of him.

‘Breakfast, then snowmen,’ I said, laughing, my heart bursting with joy at the sight of his childish delight.

He planted a kiss on my cheek, and a secret smile passed between us, a smile that told one another, today is a gift, let’s enjoy it.