I miss this in no uncertain terms. My first wife died in 1988 of cancer. She was a cold hearted Hannah.I was single at age 52 for 11 years and had a great time. I decided on marriage again and got married in 1999 to a fantastic woman. 10 years later afte 7 operations, she turned up with Altheimers. I had very depthy realtionships with many women and I miss that. What can I do?
At the top of this page, under THE ALZHEIMER SPOUSE MESSAGE BOARDS you will see 4 choices. Click 'Search', the 3rd box, click 'topics' then type 'Intimacy' and see some threads about Intimacy for you to read.
Jack, you're old enough to know what your options are, and no one has a right to judge you. Not your kids, not your friends, not members of this group. Not even sure why you raised the issue since I think you know the answer.
You want to know if it's ok to date. As far as I'm concerned, it's ok to date. I had one prime directive in my mind when I knew the direction things were incontrovertibly going with my beloved husband's descent into Alzheimer's. That was, that I would not consider entering into a relationship while he would comprehend it and be hurt by it. I met someone about a year after I had moved him into Alz care, and by then--while I maintained vigilant proprietorship of my husband's care--I felt ok entering a relationship with an understanding man. I don't think everyone here agrees with my analysis of what is "ok," but plenty do, and the community support was strong.
Beyond that, I can only refer you to Joisey guy's post (one above,) as he cuts straight to the point.
Joisey guy - I wonder if the reason he posted here and many of us post dilemmas here is when putting it down on 'paper' often it becomes clearer to us or helps us understand. Plus, having input can help. I know it does for me.
I'm going to go with more depthy relationships here.
edit - Jack, it's clear in the way you wrote that what you want. Whatever our opinions are this is a struggle between you and you and no one else because the implications all matter but only you will live them.