Since she started recovering from Covid-19 symptoms, our Youngest has been doing something which feels rather un-teenaged:

Now then Daddums, she says over supper. What are you grateful for today?

I’ve survived another day of trying to do your mother’s tax return without killing her. (That’s right: my 2018-19 tax return… which I only care about now, suddenly, in the rather wild and desperately slim hope that the nice Mr Taxman might give us 80% of our non-existent self-employment earnings which I couldn’t be bothered to tell him about until now. It’s ok: Husband got Permission for Late Filing Because HMRC Website Bust.)

What about you, Brother dear, Youngest says to Second Youngest who is none-the-less (in theory) an adult. Except when in presence of Youngest. Or indeed anyone else.

That I haven’t had to see you all day until this moment.

Love you too. What about you, Mumsie?

Um. I say. Racking my brains for anything I can remember of the day. The NHS?

Swot, says 2nd Y.

Also ok. He talks like this all the time. It’s a sign of affection. Apparently. He’s too embarrassed to tell me he loves me. Or his younger sister. Or anyone at all. On account of being an Englishman.

Anyway, here I am, starting a Gratitude Blog, about all the things we have To Be Grateful For.

Feel free to chip in.

And the first thing, genuinely, I’m going to profess myself grateful for is all the gratitude out there.

Really. I mean it. I have friends in desperate straits (we are in pretty desperate straits ourselves) and they are saying to me, We are safe, and well. We are fortunate.

We are.

(I full appreciate you may not be. You may have lost someone. Still, please, chip in.)

I don’t promise that all of this blog will be cheerful. All I am promising is to be here. Connecting. And remembering as much as possible of all the good things in my life.

Today is our older son’s birthday.

It is also Day 1 of the Summer Term.

Please join me…