Late on Christmas evening I was thinking... (still could) and I thought the dangerous thought I should know better than to voice...its sort of like tempting the Gods a bit... I thought that at this time all of my Mum and Dad's kids and grandkids and great grand children are alive, reasonably well, and as far as I knew all were with someone they loved...

All of them had enough to eat..more than enough.

All of them have a roof over their heads.

And then I thought about my Mum and Dad... he was a labourer from the age of 12, and supported first his Mother and family, then all five of us and himself and Mum.

We spent every Christmas with each other till first he died and then Mum died.

We always had enough to eat...a roof over our heads and the peace and tolerance of parents who let us become what we could.

Dad died young, with no debts and no savings but a home we owned and Mum died the same.

I felt like their success as humble as it might seem to be in this world needed to be acknowledged by me...

they actually were happy and it showed.

They got it right by having no real choice I suppose but keeping it simple...but some in the same situation of apparent poverty and hard work would become hard and bitter and take it out on the kids...

They made the choice not to be like that.

A toast to my Mum and Dad... and all those like them.