Dear Claire:

You are 37, had a few months long fast moving relationship with a man who is a father to two children, 11 and 13. He was the driving force in the relationship and he introduced you to his children and to his parents. Then he broke up with you. He said that he wants to remain friends.

Here is perhaps a key sentence in what you shared: “for the first time in my life I felt love for him”- you mean that for the first time in your life, being 37, you felt love for a man?

anita