Hello!

So if I'm honest, I had 90% forgotten that I had tipsily put my name in for the London Marathon Ballot back in May. However, I was reminded last week that I did in fact put my name forward and that I shall now be running 26.2 miles on April 22nd next year on behalf of Child Bereavement UK. I'm sure as many of you will know that this is a cause very close to my own heart as when I was 16 and my sister 13, our mum died of lymphatic cancer. 

Child Bereavement UK work to both support families and educate professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement. Their vision is for all families to have the support they need to rebuild their lives, when a child grieves or when a child dies.

I know that the fall out of childhood bereavement can be great, even if it doesn't occur until years later and and so believe that it's really important to talk about grief and to support children and families at the time, regardless of the means that this might be through. Being in an unusual situation can make you feel very alone, but there really are people who understand how you are feeling and I wish that I had known that at the time and also that it's ok to not be ok, even if it's a long time later.

If you want to read more about the work that Child Bereavement UK do then simply follow this link: https://childbereavementuk.org/about-us/

Last link! When I was in France I wrote a wordpress and this post deals explicitly with some of thoughts to do with motherloss and being bereaved at a young age. https://hattieinfrance.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/unmothered/