I am an inherently grumpy mum. I don’t mean to be but by God, this is the hardest job in the world.

I love Christmas season, but I am struggling to feel its joy. I thought it was just because I wasn’t the child getting to benefit from the magic anymore. The work is mine to do, the magic is mine to create.

Kev pointed out that as a mum, I am in the trenches of the busiest season. The workload just increases because the jobs that existed before does not relent. I took a breath, knowing that he was right and that I am, as I always am, trying my best. Sometimes I wonder if my family see that, After all, how can I expect a three and almost seven year old to appreciate the workload of their mother?

Except…. without a word, my oldest, my beautiful Squidge, dropped this in my lap:

This beautiful girl knows how special rainbows are to me since the death of my mum, who sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow to me in our last conversation, a rainbow appearing in my hometown on the day of her funeral. Squidge knows they will always make me smile.

And in her beautiful print, she had written:

Dear Mummy,

I love you, so never forget that

Love you xxx

What else could I ever need in the world?

I promise, Squidge, I will never forget.

I love you too, so never forget.