To Dublin..and back again

Around this time I met Dave my first and deep love. Our life consisted of working, going on holidays, enjoying our family and friends’ 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 after being together for ten years, our relationship was over. Dave had found someone else. I was sick with grief. My whold world revolved around him and so it was a big shock to have to sell our home and for me to move 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 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 a couple of my sisters and their children. They were a brilliant support to me, as were all my family. 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.