"You may feel remorse for what you did or didn't do, or wonder what you did wrong.Don't dwell on those feelings, but make room for them," Falk says. There is an empty space where something once filled it up, even if that something may not have been desirable." Don't tote that heavy baggage from your previous relationship into your new life.(And, yes, that did get me into some trouble.)Have fun and don’t take any one date too seriously.At this point in your life, you’ve had enough drama. Still, it can be intimidating to re-enter the world of dating.Need a little encouragement before you take that plunge? It sounds like trite advice, but it’s worth following: Don’t date until you’re ready to date. If you’re serious about finding love again, make sure you understand where you are in the healing process.

What if you could look at whomever you go out with from the standpoint of whether you liked them without worrying about what they think of you?Stay positive, embrace the adventure, expect a few disappointments, and see your life as an unfolding story, one that will be worth telling. Keep an open mind, take a few deeps breaths, and go easy on yourself.If you realize, mid-date, that you’re not ready to date, you can give yourself more time before pursuing anything further.They stood in her familiar kitchen where Julie grew up, reminding her of the best of her childhood.Now after the dial, Julie sees her mother’s familiar smile and hello, but the screen is void of the childhood memories and characters with a new home in the background.By LARSON BINZER Julie Smith* always Skyped her family when she was homesick through her first two years at New York University.The dial would ring and the screen would fill with the familiar chattering of her parents, brother and, of course, Gran, sending hellos and love all the way from The Netherlands.It’s time to kick back and have a little (or a lot) of fun being social and meeting all kinds of people.Treat yourself, your date and everyone with whom you come in contact with respect.Respect is one of those qualities that every truly confident person has.And the bonus is that by demonstrating respect in all of your interactions (even when you’re not on a date) you will cause others to automatically treat you respectfully too.Last year when Julie’s brother left for San Francisco, her parents separated after ten years of relationship problems, beginning their new lives as 50 and 60-year-old adult singles.Returning home this summer, Julie grasped the reality that things would never be the same in her- now two different- homes." Even if, by the time you split, the divorce was something you wanted, a divorce still represents a loss."Whatever your marriage and divorce experience has been, there will be emotions that have to do with grief," says psychotherapist Florence Falk, Ph D, MSW, author of On My Own: The Art of Being a Woman Alone.