I'm not 100% sure how in keeping this is or how it will be received, but I think it does fit here (It's taken me three days to man up and post!!)
I've had a pretty horrendous time since August 2017 and have managed pain, depression, fear etc etc by pretending all is fine. I learnt to do that when I was very young. It kinda keeps depression at bay, doesn't solve anything, but if I pretend to be ok enough, I don't feel quite so bad, generally!
Out here it's been a little more challenging. I don't 'fit in' (not really an issue, I never found a group that I fitted with till I started biking!), didn't speak French, etc etc.
But I did think that I was putting a good face on and generally, people didn't realise how bad things were/I felt.
Wednesday night I met some friends in a bar in another village that I generally don't go to. It's a decent bus ride back and generally when I go there, I don't see anyone to talk to - or worse, I see lots of people I know but still have no one to talk to!! I'd just had the best day skiing in years and years, so I was buzzing a bit. Walked in to see a couple of mates that had obviously been there for Apres (we were there after apres deliberately!) and Craig does get louder and more open when he's been in the bar a long time.
We started talking about work (he does transfers too) and he said that this winter would have been a REALLY good season to restart my business. I said that I just didn't have the mental capacity or finances to do that and that actually I'm very happy at work. He looked me dead in the eye and said "Are you? Are you really happy working for someone else instead?" I can, and did, honestly say that I am very happy. I like my job, I'm happy helping my boss achieve his dream. And I've got a really good job out of it and pretty sure he wants me to work the summer and maybe the interseason too
Craig looked at me very seriously and said "You look happy. For the first time in years, that smile is real. And I'm so very happy to see it. I know you've been pretending for so long, but now you look properly happy"
There haven't been many people in my life that can see past the pretending, or read a message and see past it. And do you know what? I'm amazed that Craig is one of them. But, he and his wife have been awesome friends to me since I first came out here. He's someone I can call for advice, help or just 'fancy a beer'.
So, anyway. Life isn't totally fine or sorted. But at last I do now feel happy. The 'black dog' never really goes far away, but he isn't sitting on on the back of my head with me face down in a puddle!! LOL And I'm ok with him being around, as long as he doesn't try and drown me!!
I suppose it's kind of a success story. I'm fully aware that life goes up and down (mine definitely does the roller coaster thing

!!) so I am not sitting back, I still have to make sure I appreciate the good stuff and not hang on to the bad stuff. But, you know what? Having Craig say what he did has really made me feel calmer and happier. Maybe it's just made me appreciate that yes, things really are getting better - I do sometimes wonder when the universe will get the sodding baseball bat out again, but you know what? I'm not looking over my shoulder waiting for it any more. If it happens, it happens, and I'll deal with it. Kind of a nice place to be at the moment (she says with drippy eyes cos remembering that conversation gets me all emotional!! But I did want to share it here). I am sure I'm still gonna have moments, but overall, things are more positive
