Hi Dr. Laura:

At the age of 60, after being divorced for 8 years, I met a man who "checked all the boxes."  He was loving, honest, financially secure, and we enjoyed common interests.  From the first date he told me that he would never marry again because of the divorce devastation HE experienced.  We never moved in together either, because he felt it would not send the right message to my grandchildren.  He was the best man I've ever known.

During the last year, he fell ill with heart failure.  It seemed unbelievable to me that a man who went to the gym every day and had the stamina of five oxen could decline so quickly. When he went into home hospice, I took care of him.  Just before he was no longer able to communicate, he took my hand and said "Janey, what are you still doing here sitting by the bed of a dying man?  You need to run away very fast before you have to witness the worst part of life."  I told him I was there because he had given me one of the greatest gifts I had ever received:  his love, and that I wasn't going anywhere.  He then said that his timing was a joke, and he should have asked this question a long time ago, but would I marry him?  Of course, I said yes, but unfortunately, we ran out of time, and he died a few days later.

For the next few weeks, the only way I could fall asleep at night was to divert my mind and listen to your shows.  Every night, I heard unhappy women complaining about their husbands.  I wanted to tell them that the powerful feeling of sweet love given and received is remembered long after the bitterness of regret.   Don't throw away a perfectly good man, as they cannot be replaced.

It's a year later.  I listen to you and realize I had the best and I am better equipped to recognize it should it ever cross my path again.  Thank you for the difference you have made in my life and thank you for changing the world every day with the truth.

Janey