There is a single woman that I know.  She is in her early 40s and is always glad to see me.  She gives me big hugs and kisses and seems genuinely concerned about my well being.  So, what’s the problem?   She has been married and divorced at least 5 times!!!

It seems to be a 5 year cycle.  First, there is the one year of dating, followed by the one year of wedded bliss, followed by the one year of hatred followed by the one year of divorce followed by the one year of recovery  She is presently in the recovery phase looking to move into the dating phase.

Now, while she is very attractive and charming, there must be something wrong with her if she has been married and divorced that many times.  Either she is a poor choice of men or she has some underlying problem.  Either way, the warning bells go off in my head every time that I see her.  I certainly don’t want to be number 6.

So, I will pass on this woman.

When you are newly single, you start to think about all of the single women that you know.  And, I know quite a few.  In fact, I quickly made a list of about 3 dozen single women.  Maybe one of these would make a good wife.

But, after the list came the evaluation.  Has she ever been married?  And if so, how many times.  Does she have 20 cats?  Does she only eat uncooked vegetables?  Is she interested in a relationship?

Well, the questions are endless as are the answers.  But more to the point, I eliminated all but 6 from my list..  Well, at least it is a start.

Yes!!!

After the hurrah’s came the reality.  That is to say that up until my wife’s passing and even a few days afterwards, the house was full of food and friends and family.  But, within a few short days, family and friends returned home and the food was reduced to an assortment of empty foil pans.  Now was the time for reality…..the loneliness of an empty house after 37 years!

While I was madly in love with my wife, she was gone and I was alone.  And while my 37 years of marriage had its ups and downs, it was very good and a very positive part of my life.  And I missed that.

So, I needed to find a new mate.  And while I knew that I could never replace my late wife, I needed a wife none the less.  I need someone to be not only my wife, I needed someone to be my lover and my best friend.  Sigh!  I had my work laid out for me.

Well, here I am, 60 and dating!  When I got married 38 years ago, I never  thought that I would be dating again.  In fact, I haven’t looked for a bride in almost 40 years.  But, cancer has no regard for race, religion or gender.  So, here I am, a widower at age 60 and trying to figure out how to date again.

It is my intent, with this blog, to discuss my thoughts, feelings, observations and experiences in dating at age 60.  I hope to blog at least weekly but not daily unless I have a wealth of material and time. Daily blogs are just too demanding.

So, this is my first post for my new site.  I hope that you find my blog both humorous and helpful.

Ned Swift.