Taking stock and some thank you messages

This is a reflective time of the year for me. It may be because it is a time when we have to slow down from the demands of work. It may be because it is the changing of the year. Whatever it is I have used this time to take stock of what I have achieved during the year and planned my resolutions for the coming year.

Now I am a little more contemplative and less frantic about what I should be doing. I ditched new year resolutions because they are always broken within days. But I replaced it with a list of things I wanted to achieve which is a simple way to put a lot of pressure on yourself.

Today I am going to just use this reflective mood to be grateful to all those people who have helped me through this year in many ways. So this is a thank you blog.

First I have to thank my long suffering partner who is always there to help and support me even when it keeps me away from home. Then my mum and dad who have given me so much and are always there to listen.

There are so many people to mention so here goes:

My spiritual support team Amy Lawrenson and the amazing Silverdaisies women, and Rachael Pettitt without them I would not have managed at some critical times this year

The wonderful vets and vet nurses that have helped my animals including Atherton Vet Centre who have taken such good care of Digger the rabbit and Rob for another year helping Edward the horse

Alongside this there are a number of friends who know who they are that have helped me particularly when I have had animal and other stresses including Sandra, Rachel and Ella

On a work note my namesake Amanda who has helped me through the second half of the year and my amazing work support network

The PRCA team and special mention to Iman and Laura as well as Matt Cartmell and Jon Chandler for helping me with my first year on the Council

The CIPR team with particular thanks to the NW Committee who have been incredibly patient with me, Maz and Koray

I have also met some truly inspirational people including Margrit Coates who taught me so much about animals just in one weekend.

The end of the year can be a difficult time for many people. It can evoke troubling memories or thoughts but for me taking time to say a heartfelt thank you is extremely positive.

My final thank you is to you. The people who have read, shared or commented on my blog during 2018. I hope you have found it interesting, entertaining or useful in some way. It would be great to share with you in 2019.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.