{"id":53604,"date":"2024-02-07T09:08:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T14:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53604"},"modified":"2024-02-07T09:08:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T14:08:13","slug":"advice-on-love-life-and-surviving-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=53604","title":{"rendered":"Advice on love, life and surviving Valentine’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nancy Plummer<\/strong>, Columnist, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Dear Nancy,<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a widow of five years and finally feel ready to date. My friends put me on a dating app and I realized quickly it\u2019s not for me. Last weekend a few friends and I went skiing nearby and I met this really nice man. We talked in the ski lodge for over two hours and bought me a drink. He wasn\u2019t wearing a ring and my friends felt he was really into me, yet he never asked for my number. The funny thing is that he told me his name and where he worked. I would like to meet a guy that likes to ski and who lives near me. Is it too forward of me to reach out to him? I checked him out on Linkedin and his information checks out.<\/p>\n

Lauren, West Chester<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Lauren,<\/p>\n

Sorry for your loss. I can\u2019t imagine how challenging widowhood has been for you and I\u2019m happy you feel ready to date again. Dating apps can be very overwhelming these days, so it\u2019s not just you that would rather find a partner organically.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re starting out on the right foot by looking for a partner while doing one of your favorite hobbies. I always suggest to my clients to make a list of their favorite things to do, whether skiing, going to museums, golf, just to name a few. Then while you\u2019re out there enjoying yourself, reach out and introduce yourself to anyone you\u2019re drawn to and make conversation. If you don\u2019t have a friend to go with, feel free to join a meet-up group or museum to get involved. Don\u2019t expect to meet someone your first time \u2013 you got lucky!\u00a0 Which brings me to your question: \u201cyes\u201d is the answer! Although your new ski bum may already be in a relationship, you\u2019ll never know if you don\u2019t ask. Write him a quick note through Lindkedin and let him know you really enjoyed meeting him. Let him know you and your friends are planning on skiing again and you\u2019d enjoy meeting up again on the slopes or even just grabbing a dinner together. If you want it to be a date, make sure you\u2019re explicit about it. Don\u2019t be bashful; as Mahatma Ghandhi wrote, \u201cIf you don\u2019t ask, you don\u2019t get.\u201d \u2014 Nancy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear Nancy,<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day again soon and truth be told, I\u2019m already feeling depressed. I hate this holiday. Shocking. I\u2019m single. Every year I try to find something to do with a friend and I always come home feeling sorry for myself. Worse, we usually go out to a fancy dinner and I just add on the pounds. Any suggestions?<\/p>\n

Valerie, Philadelphia<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear Valerie,<\/p>\n

You\u2019re certainly not alone with your feelings. Many, like you, associate it with feelings of loneliness and desperation, rather than love. And, if it makes you feel better, a recent poll found that over 58% of Americans think Valentine\u2019s Day isn\u2019t even a real holiday.<\/p>\n

I always recommend my single clients make Valentine\u2019s Day a day to celebrate themselves! Instead of going out to eat again, perhaps you\u2019d enjoy a spa day. Pamper yourself with a massage, facial, manicure, pedicure \u2013 the works! If you\u2019re not into that, perhaps take the day or evening for shopping. A new dress or sweater? Whatever fits your budget, there\u2019s sure to be something that\u2019ll make you feel special. The key is to make your needs a priority, even if it\u2019s just by watching your favorite TV show, movie, or Netflix series. Just please remember, the first key to happiness is loving yourself. And Valentine\u2019s Day is the perfect day to demonstrate to yourself just how wonderful you are!<\/p>\n

Here’s to you! \u2014Nancy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nancy Plummer, Columnist, The Times Dear Nancy, I\u2019m a widow of five years and finally feel ready to date. My friends put me on a dating app and I realized quickly it\u2019s not for me. Last weekend a few friends and I went skiing nearby and I met this really nice man. We talked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[1445,7426,8039,913],"class_list":["post-53604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-advice","tag-featured","tag-love","tag-valentines-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53605,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53604\/revisions\/53605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}