It's a lonely life sometimes and I could relate to that. I remembered being a young divorced parent with two small children and those feelings came flooding back to me. I decided there and then to phone up Home-Start and find out more about becoming a volunteer. I was a bit scared at the thought of a 10 week training course and immediately worried that there would be written exams. But Annie and Julie reassured me that my experiences and the challenges that I'd faced in my own life would make me a good volunteer - plus there would be no written exam that I'd have to take! I decided to go for it! I really enjoyed the course, the sandwiches were great and I made friends with the others on the course. We all found that we had similar reasons for wanting to help other parents - remembering those difficult days when our own children were little, having some time now to help, and wanting to offer a helping hand or a listening ear. I found being a volunteer very rewarding and the mums and kids I met were very grateful for the extra help. The mums told me that knowing someone was visiting each week made such a big difference to how they were coping with life. The children were always really pleased to see me coming down the path too and that give you a great feeling too. So, if anyone is sitting thinking I will phone Home-Start tomorrow, please phone NOW. You can make a difference in someone else's life.