This evening I was getting dressed to go out for a drink. It is colder this evening so I went looking for some black socks to go with my boots and black pants.
There, pushed to the back of my drawer were the socks that Mr Katie bought me during my pirate craze. They are black with a wee skull and crossbones on them.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, completely out of nowhere, my heart was ripped from my chest. And in its place was a great black yawning cavern of sadness.
I no longer have a husband. I have knowingly walked away from the only man in the world who loves me completely and unconditionally. I am totally alone, walking on the tightrope of emotions without a safety net.
But sadness is a wave and it dispersed quickly. As I picked up my heart from the floor and stuffed it back into my chest I marvelled that a simple pair of socks could cause so much damage.
And I marvelled that I could wear them on a date with a stranger and feel strangely confident that with them on I would always be brave enough to walk that tightrope knowing there was a soft place to fall if I really needed it.