Widower should enjoy relationship and not look back

Dear Abby: My wife of 43 years died nine months ago after losing her four-year battle with cancer. I met a woman who had also experienced tragedy in her life, and we started seeing each other casually. When my wife’s three sisters found out, I became the outcast. Why do people think there is a set time to grieve? Life is too short to sit and pine.

This woman has brought me out of my depression and sorrow. I was told by the pastor and hospice counselor that grieving takes time, but what is enough time? I was also told to look at the marriages of these women. When I did, I realized that they were unhappy in their unions and probably don’t want anyone else to be happy. So what do I do now? in Pennsylvania

Dear Outcast: You have had more than four years to grieve your late wife’s illness and death. Now go on with your life and don’t look back.

There’s a story in the book of Genesis about a man named Lot, whose wife looked back during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and was turned into a pillar of salt. What I take from the story is that sometimes it isn’t healthy for people to spend a lot of time looking backward, because if you do, you, too, can become “frozen” and unable to move forward with your life.

Dear Abby: One of my coworkers, “Bob,” has the same bad habit as I do — smoking.

Bob has been bumming cigarettes from me two to three times a day, five days a week, since I started over a year ago. He never buys his own.

My problem is, Bob is the vice president of the company, and I’m the receptionist. There’s a huge salary gap between our positions. How can I respectfully tell him I can no longer afford his habit and mine, and that he should support his own habit? — Taken Advantage of in Texas

Dear Taken Advantage Of: Sometimes what we regard as a problem is actually an opportunity. Because you feel that refusing to be your boss’ supplier could jeopardize your job, the safest way to handle this would be for you to quit smoking

Talk to your doctor about a nicotine-withdrawal system to help ease you through the withdrawal. Then, when Mr. VP asks to bum his next cigarette, give him a smile along with news that you’re kicking your addiction and suggest he join you.