Integrity rings like fine glass. True, clear, and reassuring.

The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions- 'it wasn't Jezebels fault, Dad.'

A dog wakens your heart to joy and companionship.

Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.

Thank you for being interested. Doesn't sound much but it meant just about everything.

Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize. Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks. Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot. But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there. Defending you against all comers.

An older sister is a friend and defender - a listener, conspirator, a counsellor and a sharer of delights. And sorrows too.