How much time?

When baking a cake, well, at least when following a recipe, there are details laid out for all the ingredients and two very important time indicators: one is the preparation time and the other is the baking time.

I think they should add other timings to these recipes when you add the extra ingredient of children. This thought came to me as I was stood at the kitchen sink doing something that is not included in the schedule: clearing up time.

This particular time seemed to be longer than the other noted times I had read. But then I remember the happiness on the girls’ faces while they were mixing and measuring the ingredients. And then I thought to myself (with elbows deep in washing up liquid) how much time does it take to make children happy?

I completed my task with a bigger smile as they sat eating their own freshly baked toffee pudding dessert.

The time didn’t seem long at all then.