My inpatient personal experience led me to a friendship with a girl who is horse crazy like I am and I enjoy road trips with her and she is the only person I have to ride horses with right now.

But as far as romantic relationships I think it is a bad idea.

When I was in the hospital for five weeks in 2000 after my BF's death I met a guy inhospital who had a son who had committed suicide. The guy was just as nice and polite as anyone ever and he was easy to talk to. We exchanged phone numbers. I thought he and I could maybe support each other's loss of family. That was MY idea but despite telling this guy I was unavailable for a romantic relationship he tried to make it one. Within just a couple weeks after I was discharged he told me he loved me. I told him he couldn't love me because he barely knew me and anyway I was still deeply in love with a dead man.

Then the guy started getting clinging and when I told him I just wanted a casual friend he gave me puppy dog eyes. Our friendship started around November so I did spend about $100 for his Christmas but he went way over that for my gifts. He got me a glass cat with my birthstone collar and a glass hummingbird AND some very nice diamond earrings.

The thing was that though he was a nice guy he wasn't attractive in a relationship way. I kept telling him to give me space to heal from what I had been through in my last relationship but he just got more needy and clinging. I finally had to block his number which I kind of felt bad to do but he was never going to get the relationship he wanted with me.