Gatorlec's posts

While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Following the deaths first of his father and then his mother, Johnsey inherits the family farm, and a healthy bank account, both of which he proves incapable of managing on his own. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns. Though companionship, and the promise of love, enter his life as a result of a hospital stay following a brutal beating, Johnsey remains a lonely man struggling to keep up with a world that moves faster than he does.

Set over the course of one year of Johnsey Cunliffe's life, The Thing About December breathes with Johnsey's bewilderment, humor and agonizing self-doubt. Readers will fall in love with Johnsey in a bittersweet tale that serves as a poignant reminder that we are surrounded in life by simple souls who are nonetheless more insightful and wise than we realize, or can even imagine.

I was born there but I moved here when I finished preschool. I don't think I really adjusted well and I have a lot of feelings like, had we not left Ireland, my life would have been better. But my ex wife, who is still my friend, says she's worried that I'll get there and still feel discontented. My uncle is letting me, my daughter and my cat stay with him. I have 11 kids but I'm only bringing my daughter. I feel guilty about it but I can't afford to bring them all, some are adults anyway and some would be extremely upset to leave, so my ex will take them. I need to do this. I need to know if what I feel is true. I'm bringing this particular daughter because she's got behavioral issues and she doesn't trust adults except me. She acts out if she goes too long without seeing me and cries if I leave her alone. I even have to lay down in her bed with her until she falls asleep or she won't. So I can't leave her in a different country.
I've been looking into primary schools there for her.