Tonight Deanna is taking me on my first ever proper night out. She has quite rightly decided that it’s time I lived a little, and so it was over a McDonald’s (other restaurants are available) on Thursday that our plan was hatched. At first, I felt a bit uneasy about it. There wasn’t anything wrong with the plan, it was just me. I was asking myself lots of questions – for example, would it be any good? Would it be a safe idea for me? Would I end up being all boring and spoiling the whole thing?

Let’s pause for a moment and focus on that word. “Boring”. It’s something that I’m constantly convinced applies to me. Deanna always does her best to reassure me that it isn’t true, but my belief cannot be shaken that easily, it seems. Without times like tonight I’ll be faced with the prospect of telling my grandkids (if I have any) that I spent most of my years as a young man staying in. I quite like doing that, but I also realise that everyone has to take the plunge at some stage – even though I’m feeling slightly apprehensive about what tonight could bring, I’ll just have to accept that any challenges are part and parcel of any able-bodied person’s life too. If everybody else has to deal with a crowded pub in order to have a good time, then it’s likely I will as well.

Having said all of that, though, I am also very excited. Deanna has very kindly agreed not to throw me in at the deep end, and therefore we’ve devised a simple route of four places in town. It’s manageable, but also one that should allow us to have a lot of fun. We get on well enough as it is, so I can’t imagine how we might be after a few hours! I’m glad I agreed to the whole thing (in precisely the time it takes to eat a McFlurry), and I’m feeling pretty confident that I won’t regret it either. Whatever happens, it’s a little landmark in my life, and perhaps above all a step towards de-boring me a little bit more. And helping me drink something other than beer!

Mason