Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Dating after death

One of my favorite songs of the moment is "Like You'll Never See Me Again" by a little-known artist named Alicia Keys.

The entire premise of the song is to show as much love as possible to someone while they are alive because you never know when they will meet their end.

And when that end comes, the living partner must move on with their life. But when and how should they go about doing that?

This is one scenario where I have no personal experience. However, I have known people, both fairly young and old, who've lost a significant other. The one thing I can say from observing all their situation is it is not something that is easier to deal with just because you're older.

The older people I know opted not to date and became more involved in social and community activities. The younger ones eventually got back out there after timetables of their own choice. When they made this decision, they admitted feeling guilty and tackling people's perceptions of them.

Do you think there is an appropriate timetable to date someone after SO died? When someone does take that leap, how should they approach it?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Move on to a more enlightening subject PLEASE !!!!!

Anonymous said...

I agree ! Too depressing. This is a New Year. We need new exciting topics or maybe new writers.

Anonymous said...

Wow, sure it is a sad topic, but it's happened to people. It seems like it would be a devestating thing, but then you wonder how do you move on and properly respect the person's death. I think the blog poses an interesting question. I also think it's timely especially with the success of "P.S. I Love You."

Anonymous said...

I don't think "P.S. I Love You" can be deemed a success...either way, the topics the last couple of days have been pretty thin!

Anonymous said...

A relationship after the loss of a significant other is a delicate situation. Be very careful, do not read something into it that is not there on both parts. Keep it casual for a long while until the wounds are healed. Love to all

A Journey Well Taken: Life After Loss said...

As a widow of four years, I can just say there is no general appropriate time frame to date again. Sometimes we jump into it too quickly, and others don't even want to think about dating anyone else. Many factors play into this.

A Journey Well Taken: Life After Loss said...

As a widow of four years, I can just say there is no general appropriate time frame to date again. Sometimes we jump into it too quickly, and others don't even want to think about dating anyone else. Many factors play into this.