A strange time of year for resolutions?

I, like many parents of school aged children, think September seems more of a 'New Year' than January, so I've done some of my reflecting now rather than when we're racing round the country trying to see as many relatives as possible over the Christmas break!

My reflections have been triggered by a tragedy.  My second cousin Deyanne died very suddenly a couple of weeks ago.  I haven't seen her for years and, as she was five years older than me, we were not close when growing up. That five years suddenly seems very small. She died aged 35 and leaves behind a 13 year old daughter and 4 year old son.  The tributes that poured into the local paper from people in our home town of Ulverston were incredible, to see the number of lives she had touched and the number of young people who she had championed - working with and for them, was humbling.

When I returned from the funeral one of the things waiting on my desk was my form to fill out if I wish to be considered for re-selection by the Labour Party to fight next years local elections. I fill in forms regularly, some for the party, lots for the Council and other partners, I even quite like filling in those questionnaires that offer a years free shopping, this one though, I really struggled with.

Mortality makes you question things more thoroughly than you otherwise may do. Is this what i want to be doing? Do I spend enough time with my gorgeous children? Could I make more of a difference doing something else? 

I love most of what I do as a Councillor, there are no two days alike, to have the opportunity to make where I live a better place is wonderful, and being able to work with someone and resolve a problem is a rare privilege.

There are also terrible frustrations. The petty internal squabbling, the bureaucracy, the slow progress of change, the individuals who want all your time but are never satisfied with the results (that can take you away from the people who really need help), the difficulty in getting 'good news' to people - these are all things to contend with. 

The other big challenge though is perception. Someone recently tweeted 'all politicians are arseholes'. Now generalisations are always a problem for me but this one got me thinking.  Do I want to carry on doing a role where most people seem to think you're in it for the money, the power or the glory?

The conclusion I came to is similar to my first posting here, I don't have to meet other peoples perceptions, I can even try to change them! For all the difficulties, I think not trying to make a difference would be far more frustrating. 

So my resolutions after all this soul searching?

1) Try and thicken my skin (and thin my waist).
2) Enjoy the Successes.
3) Learn from failure and then move on.
4) Make time each day for my kids without interruption from the phone or computer.