Life was good! Or so I thought … I was a mother of two teenage children, and in a new relationship with a slightly older man—he was in his mid-forties. We both liked to travel, play the lottery, and go hiking. We met through his brother, who I had met in a bar when I needed a ride one sad, lonely night.
We just clicked. He said he was in a bad divorce, and had separated from her two years earlier, but she was using their two children against him. I too was in a split, but my two children were being shared by our families. When I wanted to see my two kids, they were always busy—and now I had more free time then I knew what to do with. Therefore my bar scenes were plenty. I met many a strange man, and had many complicated relationships! Until I met him, and we started talking, meeting, going to movies, going on walks, and visiting each other’s places.
I introduced him to my parents, they liked him instantly. My kids adored him. He was a churchgoer and team leader. We kept my two kids a lot, and we eventually found a place together, and took my kids in permanently. We were happy. After a year of living in our small hometown, we moved to a city about 400 kilometers away—a five hour drive from my hometown. Oh we loved it! The big malls, the casinos, the public libraries, and the pools. There were so many things to do and places to go.
We went to church, he brought me closer to God, and showed me how to deal with my growing children—a boy and a girl. He even got me to get along with their dad, which I couldn’t do before.
Two years had passed when we moved back home to our hometown because of work. He was out of a job and we were struggling in the city, so we moved back home. The kids were basically on their own now, and we got a small two bedroom duplex. We loved going to bingo, driving people around, and visiting family. It was good to be back home and going to church with my parents. His job only lasted a year, and we were back looking for work again, when he suddenly became numb (while driving). We pulled over, and I massaged him until he felt better. We shrugged it off and forgot about it, until it happened again. This time he was asleep and woke to a numb sensation taking over his body. He showered and felt better. We went for a drive, again shrugging it off. This continued for a week or two.
