And for that, I am truly grateful

So many gratitudes. First, to the people who, through the year - inbetween, at the start and to the end - have sent good wishes, magic wands and generally happy news to make us smile. Thank you. I'm sorry that I don't always manage a prompt reply. Your words are lovely, beloved, cherished.

And we are all here, still: Dig is not receiving chemo at the moment. 2019 will bring, waving a magic wand with extra sparkles, a different round of treatment.

Then the gritlets. What reasons for gratitude they each are!

Squirrel, for the largest part of the year, has been the only family member with an actual paid employment from an actual real employer. Her job is crackingly good. I would half-inch it myself if I wasn't already performing my own daily dramatic performance. Working at a local theatre in ushering, support, selling, dogsbody, is giving her experience from the ground up. Hopefully she can wangle free tickets soon extend her abilities and interests in theatre to help it form part of her future career options.

Shark, meanwhile, is putting her gap year to excellent use. She's notching up volunteer work with the local hospice (all-round good egg), studying for further maths and, her icing on the cake, starting a job with a robot company, so she can put you all out of work. She also managed to lure Squirrel away from school in September (not hard) to go travelling in France, Germany and the Netherlands. (Not too difficult to get leave of absence, by the way. I wrote, ahem, a persuasive letter to the Camp Commandant, composing the national press invisibly between the lines, and they looked the other way for two weeks.)

Tiger is settling nicely into a sort of illustrative brilliance and natural gifted talent. If you don't see her drawings in some form in the future, then something has gone wrong with the world. Donald Trump has blown it up, or Tiger has nobbled her own abilities by going bonkers in a seriously profound way. Pity me then, daily trying to prise her out her room, coaxing her from the ceiling with pasta, and telling her that she is loved, no matter what, even when she has to do worse than worst.

There remain two other points of gratitude yet. One is the fact that HSBC haven't given our last meagre quid to the Chinese government - yes, I went to Hong Kong and swore my oath and made my prayer to the courts - and the other is the best, the very best, the reason we can be grateful now and forever, alpha to omega.

This reason was given, unprompted, like a gift into our family. It is now my new hymn, sang at the day's end with my other treasures, alongside, From little acorns grow big trees, and Things will take a turn for the better by Friday:

Yesterday I went to meet a horse! Wow, what a bad idea that is. It has gone on my reasons to be cheerful. I don’t have a horse.