It’s funny, I think about blogging ... and then I forget again ... or put it off for another day. And yet I never forget just how helpful blogging has been to me. A safe space to express things I didn’t even know were within me.

What are the best things in my life today? My family remains the centre of everything to me. I’m now a Grauntie ... I know it’s a made up word but doesn’t it just convey perfectly the wonderfulness of being an aunt to to the child of a child I was an aunt to ... isn’t time funny that way? I’m an aunt and a grauntie and very happy to be so.

Here above is Ted who is 3 and a half. Ted holds my heart. We play and walk and chat and he reminds me of the child his mummy once was. He is strong and determined, he sings raucously and with more gusto than the rest of us combined. He knows he is loved and that means everything.

And here is Tommy

Did you ever see eyes as full of wonder? There is no fear in this boy, he laughs and has started making words as well as sounds. He dances and waves at the same time which is quite a feat. Next year he will become a big brother and my Grauntie-ness will expand once again. Good job hearts are endlessly expandable.

In October I celebrated 9 years of continuous sobriety. I remember the woman I was in my drinking days. I own my own shit but recognise that recovery is a process of change and progress. I am the person I am ... not perfect by any means, but not all bad either. Life is good.

This is my gentle man and I on race day a while ago. See what I mean? Life is good. I hope in the run up to this festive season, life is good for you too. xx