JustGiving Page Up and Running!

My JustGiving Page for my London 10k run is now ready to roll! 

To sponsor me, please visit www.justgiving.com/EmmaDavis10kRun or text EMDA52 + amount in pounds you want to donate to 70700 (eg. EMADA52 £5).

I'm very passionate about supporting CALM. They are a national, who run a helpline and website to offer immediate assistance to men who are down or facing a crisis. They also work to challenge the culture that prevents men from seeking help when they need it and to challenge stereotypes that prevent men from talking about the issues they face. To find out more about CALM and the work they do, visit their website. 

My target of £500 would help to run the phone line for just one day. One day that could make a massive difference to many, many people’s lives. As I have witnessed, it is not just the lives of these young men that CALM is helping to save, but also the devastation and heartache of every person that knows and loves them.

Go on. You know you'll forget to do it later, so click through now to sponsor me.

Last year's 10k runners for CALM.
Looking forward to getting my snazzy vest!

A Quick Catch-Up....Exciting Times Ahead!

So much for my new year's resolution to regularly update my blog. I have been doing firsts, including some random acts of kindness and eating Scottish delicacies. But there's an upcoming first that I'm quite excited about. I've just been accepted to run this...

The British 10k London Run

...in July, to raise money for this...

CALM

Exciting stuff. And  I never thought I'd use that phrase to describe physical excersise. More details to follow, including how to sponsor me (yes please), but just wanted to share the news. 

Week 1...

There have been a couple of firsts already this week. Thursday marked a year since the death of my brother. I cannot explain how awful I felt that day. Even after I had worked up the drive to get out of bed, I climbed back under the duvet at one point and considered staying there (and not just for the day). 

I had deliberately made sure I had no work planned for the day; I knew I would be in no state to concentrate. But my family had plans for the afternoon and evening, which included a trip to the cemetery, a picnic in the park and a trip to see Rhys Darby AKA Murray from Flight of the Concords - we thought that's where Nathan would have been that evening if he was still with us. I think this was a fitting way to mark the day. And I actually enjoyed the show. In some ways it is good to have some time as a family where we have a shared sense of grieving. Sometimes it is all too easy to carry on about our individual lives without acknowledging that we're all thinking of him. 

Today has been another first. My lovely little niece, my first and only niece who was born a few weeks after Nath's death, was baptised. She looked so lovely in her little white dress and was so good. Despite not being particularly religious myself, and despite the obvious trials of family get-togethers when one person is so obviously missing, it was a really lovely day.

That may seem enough for my first week of ‘firsts’ but I feel the need to do something else. 

"When you feel helpless, help someone." - Aung San Suu Kyi

I saw this quote recently on a website for a project called We-are-lucky (a brilliant experiment in giving, you should take a look if you haven't heard of it already). Helpless would be one adjective I would use to describe how I feel at the moment. I feel helpless in the face of what has happened. Helpless to control my emotions. 

But, most of all, I feel helpless to help other people. In particular, I feel helpless to help the rest of my family.