DEAR ABBY: I am a 70-year-old widower with three grown children. My girlfriend is 53. We dated for several months before she moved in with me. I thought maybe with her living here I might fall in love with her. It has not happened.
I hate to break her heart, but I know now that I will never ask her to marry me. How do I bring closure to this relationship? I’m lost because this is a first for me. I was married for 40 years, and I just do not wish to be married again.
— In a Bind in Texas
DEAR IN A BIND: Having the woman move in with you "hoping" you would fall in love with her was a huge mistake. When you say what you need to say, expect her to be tearful and angry. Tell her she has done nothing wrong, and it is not a failure on her part, but you realize that you do not wish to remarry. You will be doing both of you a favor by being up-front NOW.
DEAR ABBY: I am a man with a longtime problem. Whether it’s a sad or happy occasion, I start crying. I try to avoid any situation that may cause this. I am at a new point in my life where I can no longer avoid these situations. People think it’s not normal. Is there a magic pill to control this?
— Big Crybaby in Brooklyn, N.Y.
DEAR CRYBABY: There is no pill that can help you control those emotions that I know of. I do think, however, that if you discuss with a therapist what it is about sad and happy occasions that causes such an extreme reaction that you could get quickly to the bottom of it. n
