What I learnt from a simple anecdote. Say yes even when you are thinking no.

My husband remembers it as a fantastic unexpected treat that taught him John-Michael Howson is awesome company and that the things you don’t want to do are the things you probably should.

It made a strange thing happen. Suddenly, I was looking with envy, not ennui, at social media friends carousing on Italian beaches and shopping in London streets. I wanted to start socialising again and travelling further than the supermarket.

My daughter asked me on a road trip to Adelaide where she was playing in a giant roller derby tournament. Can do. The drive was ace, with Chokitos and six hours of the Glee soundtrack. We stayed with my longest-standing best friend, who wore face paint with me to bouts. We went out for larb gai, bought op shop ski parkas, talked Simple Minds with a pub DJ.

Watching my strong, beautiful girl smash around on wheels was magnificent. When the scoreboard broke down midway through the grand final, the teams kept doing battle – in a dance off to Britney’s Toxic, played live by the Onkaparinga City Concert Band. I cried at Sadie’s happy exhausted sleep face on the way home. The world was incredible. So was being back in it.

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Next up was a weekend in Hobart with my mate Lou. We had dinner at her sister’s olive grove, did a crochet lesson with her mum, ate rose gin nougat at the market. Back home, I caught a train from Geelong to the MCG. Hiked in the You Yangs. Joined a new gym.

Thank you, John-Michael Howson, for the timeless message of your long-ago generosity. We don’t need to know everything about someone or something before we embrace it.