LilliesandLove Guest Post…

“Anything you like!” she said.

Eek!

As a lifestyle blogger, I’m used to writing about anything and everything, but that’s on my own blog where I don’t feel under any sort of pressure to be entertaining or interesting, but guest posting here I suddenly felt full of nerves and my brain completely emptied itself of all inspiration.  I guess it’s the same as looking after other people’s children – you try your best to be the “fun Auntie”!

Anyway, after a little bit of thought, I decided I’d write something from the heart…

Although I’ve known Haydn for a while via blogging and Twitter, I met her for the first time in late September when us Essex Bloggers went out for lunch together.  I recognised her instantly and her style is wicked; she looked amazing in her tartan trousers, Fred Perry top and geek chic glasses.  I immediately wished I was a bit more fashionable.  We all got on really well and from the moment we started talking there wasn’t a moments silence the whole day.

Haydn couldn’t stay for much more than a couple of hours as after she’d finished lunch with us, she was going into London to do the 13-mile Shine walk to raise money in memory of her friend Oli.  She told us about him, about their friendship and about how it tore her world apart when he passed away.  You could tell it had devastated her and her family, but what really touched me was the way she’s turned the situation around.

Where there was heartbreak, there’s now determination.

After the loss of Oli, Haydn decided she wanted to raise money for charity to help those people, like Oli, suffering with Leukemia.  In her words, “I want to help so other people don’t have to feel the way we do.”

Yowzer.  That sentence right there says it all.

She decided that she wanted to raise £1000 and has taken part in various activities to do so and has now SMASHED through that barrier, raising over £1100 so far!  But she’s not stopping; she’s now selling her pre-loved items for bargain basement prices with every single penny going into her fundraising.

I’m a great believer in life lessons and for everything bad that has happened in my life, I try to find the positive to come out of it.  There’s always a lesson to be learnt and rather than letting grief and heartache tear you up, you have to look for the positive – there’s always a small chink of light peeking through the cracks, you just have to look hard enough.  It’s not always obvious, and it doesn’t always come straight away, but that light is there and you will find it.

I guess, as I take over Squibb Vicious for a day, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say what an amazing girl our Squibby is, that she’s inspired me to make the most of my life and to do what I can to give to others less fortunate than me.

Good on you girlie, you’re a diamond.

LilliesandLove xx