You Can Never Plan The Future on the Past...

One of the first things we talked about when I got back to Blighty was booking another flight for me to go back to Kefalonia. I didn’t need to be asked twice, so I surfed the web, and found flights back out at the end of August. Returning to the UK only made me realise how much I did not want to stay. I know that sounds ungrateful and selfish, having been born and lived here all my life but somewhere deep within me, I felt I was destined to live elsewhere. I had lived in the South of England, the North of England and the Midlands, but I never ever felt I could call anywhere my home. From the first time I stepped on the island of Kefalonia, I felt a sense of belonging. I don’t expect anyone to understand this, but from the start I felt my heart was firmly planted there in the Ionian.

Being apart from my boyfriend for even a few days made me realise that I wanted us to be together. Upping sticks and moving to a foreign country is not something to be taken lightly, although I knew I wanted this more than anything. I had to pull my head out of the clouds and think logically, and I did not find this an easy thing to do. There were other things to consider about moving overseas. Where would I work, how would I support myself, what documents did I need, how would I learn the language were just a few of the things running through my mind. The Shirley Valentine in me wanted to get on the next plane to Greece and live on this beautiful island right now.

After long discussions with my partner, we agreed we needed a plan. We had decided that if we were going to do this, we were going to do it the right way. He had his sensible head on, and seemed to cope a lot better than I was. I had good days and bad days. I had to focus on the long term goals to get me through the here and now. I'm not going to paint a sob story picture of my past, but being single still at the age of 36 meant I had some failed relationships under my belt. I had began to think I was never going to meet my someone special, but I found them when I wasn't even looking. It is easy to judge the future on past experiences, but here I had a brand new fledgling relationship and a real chance of happiness. Someone said to me  around this time that you should love like you have never had your heart broken, this piece of advice stayed with me, and I wanted to live by it.

It was during this time apart that the plan was hatched for me to start running. A throw away comment about me running a marathon one day turned into a serious discussion. He was more excited than me about it, and showed lots of support and enthusiasm. It was another goal we had in common and only strengthened our relationship. I had felt my fitness levels had drastically improved during my time in Kefalonia, and was down to the amount of walking around the island and exercise we did together. To capitalise on this, on my return, I dusted off my gym membership card and downloaded the couch25k app that can be found on the NHS website. Exercise really helped me to channel my energy in a positive way, rather than using my time to sit around thinking about the negatives. I have always been a strong person, and I knew that everything was going to be okay, but will admit that I did have my wobbles now and then. With my flights booked I was counting down the days until I could return to my little piece of paradise.

Paradise