Duncan

6:30, and I'm in the kitchen, a frying pan in my hand. I squint as I attempt to read the recipe without my glasses. The frying pan hisses as I drop in some pancake batter, swirling it around with the back of my ladle. Little bubbles rise to the top. I flip the pancake over, yawning. I should be still in bed, like everyone else. But instead I'm up making a special breakfast for everyone. Why? Because it's Duncan's birthday.

Duncan is the quiet one of the family. At the dinner table, we're all talking and laughing together. He listens quietly, with a smile. However, ask him a question about a movie, TV show, or book, and he becomes quite animated, captivating you for hours as he recounts many of the strange facts he's learnt.

Duncan is the hard worker. The washing machine beeps to tell us that it's finished. No one reacts, except Duncan, who puts on his boots, and braves the cold wind to make sure we have clean, dry clothes to wear.

Duncan likes to surprise us. He comes home in the evening, and, with a huge grin on his face, whips movie out of his jumper, complete with sweets. Then he'll join us in front of the TV to watch it.

It's evening. We've eaten a lovely dinner and a birthday cake. Then we've watched a movie. Duncan looks happy. He's had a lovely day, with lots of good food, presents, and a trip to the go-kart track. I'm tired from cooking the birthday food. But it was all worth it to make Duncan's day special.

Happy Birthday Duncan!