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ORIGINAL: AnthaofTabor

Zevar,

My thanks for sharing your special memories and such beautiful, moving  words on the passing of your beloved FC. The bond you and she shared, and still continue to share, is very meaningful.

I, like Coyote, feel that lost loved ones live on in our hearts and minds. They are people who have touched our souls and will always be with us.

Mist, your words are so very true. It is so easy to allow that part of you that dies with the loved one to take over. To mourn, and lose the courage to move forward. It was, for me, a daily battle to do so.

Mitzie, I lost someone I loved very deeply in 2006, two months after my father passed away. He was someone, like your late partner, who although not my FC, was someone I loved very much. He and I were in the process of returning together (following a break) and were moving forward in building a life together. His parting was very sudden and unexpected.

He himself had lost his wife some years previously and your story of the rose bush touched me - He and his children had planted a rose bush in their garden in memory of his late wife.

When he died, I comforted myself with the thoughts that he was only ever mine on loan and now he and his wife are reunited. I know he loved me deeply, as I did he. I know despite his own dreadful loss of his wife, he again found happiness in our brief time together.

I also know he is at peace and part of him will always be with me guiding me and remain in a special place in my heart.

As some of you know now I am  FC to Simon. He is my soulmate and love of my life. Contemplating death hiding us each from the other's view is something we have had to think about very seriously, especially in recent months, given a recent hiccup in my health  (thankfully now resolved).

I know for certain that if we had been parted I would want him to move forward and find another who would make him happy. I would want him to know that the short precious time we had spent together was worth a lifetime.

Love is such a special gift. When bound in its invisible cords it can transcend death. Our dear loved ones are always with us, guiding and watching over us. We have to move forward and not be afraid to do so. That takes enormous courage and fortitude.

To all who have lost a loved one, be it a FC, or Partner, always remember the fact they are not lost just hidden from our view. Moving forward and finding love again is not a betrayal of your original love, but confirmation of the human's greatest gift of loving and sharing with each other.

"Love was not put in the heart to stay, love is not love unless it is given away."

Once again Zevar, thank you for starting this thread and sharing your personal experience, which in turn has allowed others to share theirs.

I wish you all well,

Antha