I must start off by apologizing to all for the delay since my last blog, with the last month being so manic both at work and at home I have simply not had the time. This last month has been particularly testing for me and I have, more than ever, realised the importance of family and the support they give you in times of difficulty. Family is priceless as you can go weeks, months or even years without needing your family for anything however, whenever it is they are needed they are there for you no questions asked. This blog is probably a week too late as I should have written this on mothers day but hey, better late than never.

I would like to share how proud I am of my mother and in particular what she has just done in her company with only passion, determination and just plain stubbornness! As we all know there has been devastation across the world and every now and then you get disasters that make us all feel bad for a while before a story about some footballer and his wife or Jordan/Katie Price (whatever) gets all the tabloids and we all forget. My mum however, really had her heart strings pulled by the recent disaster in Haiti, and spent many conversations on the phone with me talking in particular about the children who have suffered. She was disappointed and upset especially after discovering that the multi million pound company she works for (unable to name), had not intended to do anything in terms of trying to help. This was something she challenged and pushed as high as she could, arranging meetings and sending letters to those with the power to influence. She risked her own career within the company as she did not exactly receive any real support from those above and round her. In the end she received enough support that they were able to arrange a company wide day of raising money that went to the Haiti Fund.

Well done mum.

I received a cold call the other night from a gentleman who was trying to get me to give money to charities. Although I do give I did not on this occasion and made my excuses to get off the phone, something he said really got me thinking. Wouldn't you like to make a differnce?

Now I'm fully aware that individually my few pounds a month would not make any difference to anyone however it made me think: 'How many times had I made a real difference to someone else's life without getting anything from it myself?'

And i must stress giving someone a lift to the shops without them buying you something or anything like that does not count!

I thought back to when I was at Uni and was part of a group of students that held a fantastic event for disabled children throughout Yorkshire, but quickly realised we did this event as it was a module at Uni. I therefore gained from it!!!!

I have been thinking for a few days now and I am quite ashamed to say that apart from giving to charity, I cannot think back, in recent time, to a point when I helped out a person who needed it just because it was a good thing to do. Sure I give to charity, but in reality that does not put you out because if it did most people (i'm probably included in this) would not give.

Although i'm not normally one for New Years Resolutions I think this may be one life change I want to make in 2010. Jackie Cameron correctly states that most New Years Resolutions fail "often because they are just too big". The general consensus seems to be that making small changes to certain aspects of my life will be the way to really change.

I have began thinking of ways to go about this and have a few ideas that I will look to explore more over the coming months. If anyone has any experiences or suggestions on how I could do this I would very much appreciate it if you would share them with me.