"Squeak!"

My son Chris is now in his thirties. He’s done well in his profession, and that pleases me very much, especially as it is a vital service (accident and emergency surgery).

When he was about fifteen, or perhaps younger, as we were together in the kitchen one day I suddenly became aware he was no longer a child. I said to him “It seems you are coming to the end of your childhood, Chris.” He looked at me. I went on,“I have so much enjoyed being with you while you have been a child”. I may have said more, to let him know how appreciative I was of his company all those years.

So last night, not to leave it too late, while I was lying down with Claude after putting him to bed, I told him what I had said to Chris, and then I said to him, “My little man – little mouse, I mean” – (he likes me to call him a mouse due to his recent love affair with a captive wild mouse, now on the run again), “I so much appreciate living with you and having your company.”

His face lit up with a glow of pleasure. “Squeak!”, he said.