To Dublin..and back again

Around this time I met, dated, and eventually married Dave. We were deeply in love with one another. Our life consisted of working, going on holidays, enjoying our family and friends’ company and generally enjoying life to the full, and with the exception of his dear mother dying of cancer, life’s problems seemed to pass us by. I was devastated when I learned that our relationship was over. Dave had found someone else. Not only did we have to break up after being together for ten years, I wasn’t legally married in the first place. I couldn’t bear to be close to Dave, as I still loved him very much, so we sold our home and I moved back to Dundalk.

The initial months that followed were horrible. My whole life had changed. Everything that was familiar to me had disappeared. I had no work, no home, and no husband. All of my friends were in Dublin. I had no idea how to start over again. Indeed, I felt that it was impossible to start again and at twenty-eight I thought my life was over and that I would never meet or love another man as I did Dave. Because I had, up to then, lived a fairly sheltered life, this situation was crippling and I had no idea how to cope.

For the next two years I lived with several of my sisters and their children. They were a brilliant support to me, as were all my family, and took me out and about whether I wanted to or not! The first few months went by and eventually, over time I began to feel more competent and less… lost, I suppose. I became stronger and I began to pick up the pieces of my life. I got a job and made new friends. During these two years I began to take control of my life and, once again, to feel normal.