OK – a temporary diversion from Dupree! Came across the following on an internet site for bereaved people which has some relevance to LS.
Learning to Love Again
When we fall in love we believe it will be forever…..well, it is! Even if you lose that person, you never lose the love in the very soul of you. Love is eternal, love is a wonderful gift of life.
The greatest gift is finding the ability to love again. It is something that we tend to feel guilty about, as though we must only ever love one person. In life, we love more than one person - our family, our lover, our parents, our friends. They may be different kinds of loving but you do love more than one person. When you have a second child it does not mean that you stop loving your first born…..you may have different feelings but you have the capacity to love without guilt.
As a widow you have had a gift…. a gift of knowing how special it is to love someone. To love is a gift we should not shut down, loving someone new will be different and importantly it will never take away the love you had….you should not feel guilt but a sense of wonder at the opportunity that life has given you a second chance to share love in the world.