Emma Thompson on living in a woman’s body: my daughter thrums with life, my mother is frail – and I’m balanced between

When three generations of my family were together, I realised how, wordlessly, we recalibrate each other

I found myself, during our strange, second Covid Christmas, sandwiched between my 22-year-old daughter and my 89-year-old mother. This year, more than ever, the umbilical connection between us tugged at me as I, Janus-in-waiting, observed, monitored and enjoyed the miraculous luxury of three generations together.

My daughter has tattoos. I like them, which surprises me. I understand the urge to mark life's more seismic events upon your body. They sear themselves into our brains after all, so perhaps tattoos are just the outer version of the inner burns.