I agree with you, Faye and Eskie, that there is enrichment and discovery in meeting and getting to know new people. But, there is getting close, and then there is GETTING CLOSE!!! I have close friends, male and female, who enrich my life, and I wouldn't trade them for the world, and it trust them. But to fall "in love" with someone who cruelly rejects you is painful. Yeah, think that your life is still enriched for having met them, but the painful aftermath of recovery leaves one wanting to be self-protective.
Seeker