My condolences to you and your family, Augie.

My dad had a real hard time when my mom passed away almost 19 years ago. I checked up on him every day for probably 6 weeks or so. Well, I think he called me more than I called him. But he had a real difficult time since he just retired a couple months prior. Not sure what happened but one day, the black cloud that was over his head just lifted or it was slowly lifting over time. My dad had to learn how to do things around the house since my mom did most of the household stuff and that took his mind off of it. He also did some things like gardening and took a couple of part time jobs just to get out of the house. It will get better for you over time, I'm sure. Not sure how long that will take but lean on your friends and family as much as you can and they will support you through this.

Agree with Spaulding, please don't drink. One of my dad's best friends from when he was a kid drank a 750 mL bottle of whisky every day after his wife passed away. He was one of the greatest, nicest guys you'd ever want to meet and then he just turned into an asshole and finally, he killed himself with his drinking. Unfortunately, the memories I have of this guy are when he was drinking. I wish I could dump that from my head but I cannot. So, yeah, please don't be like my dad's friend.

Once again, condolences to your family.

A lot of good advice in this thread, thank you all so much.

A few comments...

I'm not a big drinker, so I don't plan on going down that road.

I think Spaulding mentioned that her husband would be married within a year. Not happening here. I have no desire to try and replace her because it can't be done.

I do need to be intentional about staying busy, so I will probably play a lot more golf. In fact, I just got home from the course.

Golf, joining a gym, going back to church and reading a lot will be my prime leisure activities for the time being.

Sports on TV will be a nice distraction too. Golf, Baseball and football season will keep my mind occupied and reading what you jamokes think about the Bears especially.

Thanks again to everyone.

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"I give you my word as a Biden"

I'm in no position to opine but sounds like some good suggestions already. My condolences.

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Heartfelt condolences. I do suggest if possible you make no major financial decisions for a while.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

sorry for your loss