Don’t feel bad that you don’t feel bad

Advertisement

Advertise with us

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I used to think I loved my man, but now I think it was more of a habit than a real feeling. He left me before Christmas and I haven’t cried a single tear. Mostly I feel free; I feel relief. My grown-up kids are out-of-town and upset.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/01/2016 (3913 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I used to think I loved my man, but now I think it was more of a habit than a real feeling. He left me before Christmas and I haven’t cried a single tear. Mostly I feel free; I feel relief. My grown-up kids are out-of-town and upset.

I can hardly wait to start dating again. Is this awful of me? I actually feel alive and sexy again, like someone opened the cage and I have a real chance at living. I don’t feel like I lost my love, I feel like it petered out a long time ago and I stayed because that’s what you do. We hadn’t had sex in five years or so. I can hardly wait. I even know who I’m going to go after — a guy at work who’s always had a crush on me. Am I a bad person for feeling like this?

— Barn Door is Open, Southern Manitoba

 

Dear Barn Door is Open: To thine own self be true, wrote Will Shakespeare. It’s been way too long since you felt your real desires, recognized what you really wanted and felt excited about life. Don’t fake it another minute! Since your ex was the one to leave you, you don’t even have to be discreet. It’s a perfect situation — a pain-free divorce. Go see your lawyer and then buy some happy new clothes for 2016. Best of luck in your new life!

 

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Being Jewish, I remember a very orthodox Jewish family who for years attended mass on Christmas Eve. The father (a medical doctor) was a bass-baritone and served as chazzan (cantor) on special occasions, such as the High Holidays. He obviously considered the spirituality of any religious event compatible with a splendid opportunity for making and listening to beautiful music. Thus, mass was always on his December agenda.

Without being a synagogue attendant, I still like to sing or whistle traditional synagogue choral music. Many thanks for your always inspiring column and my best wishes for the holidays and the coming year.

— One of Your Faithful Readers, Winnipeg

 

Dear Faithful Reader: Thanks for the kind words and happy New Year to you! For many years, I have not gone to one place of worship, but sampled many. I go by myself, by choice, and enjoy all the different ways people sing and chant and meditate and pray and whatever else the group does. As a small part of my Goddess Adventures group, I sometimes take the gang to explore different religions. They always remark how similar the basic beliefs are with the emphasis on love and the golden rule. The rest of time we do more physical things like jumping out of airplanes and recording CDs, but spiritual styles can be an adventure too, if you keep an open mind.

 

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6

 

Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts
Advice Columnist

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The moon is in Capricorn.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Be aware that people notice you more than usual. In fact, some people will even know personal details about your private life. Consider this in case you have to do some damage control. This is a relaxed day and a chatty one.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Gillingham in lead with decided voters

Nicole Buffie 6 minute read Preview

Gillingham in lead with decided voters

Nicole Buffie 6 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

A cloud of uncertainty is hanging over Winnipeg as October’s municipal election nears.

Three months after a poll showed more than 40 per cent of Winnipeggers wanted to see someone other than current mayor Scott Gillingham elected, a new Abacus Data poll indicates more than half of Winnipeg voters are undecided heading into next month’s civic election.

Of decided voters, 55 per cent favour Gillingham compared to 23 per cent for former councillor and provincial cabinet minister Kevin Klein and 11 per cent for funeral director Mike Vogiatzakis.

Of all respondents, just over 50 per cent said they were unsure while 13 per cent said they will not vote.

Read
Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Cabernet Sauvignon star of wine festival

Ben Sigurdson 5 minute read Preview

Cabernet Sauvignon star of wine festival

Ben Sigurdson 5 minute read Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

The Winnipeg Wine Festival will celebrate the king of red wine grapes next weekend — the theme of this year’s festival, which takes place Sept. 25 and 26 at the RBC Convention Centre, is Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cab Sauv, as it’s also known, is the world’s most widely planted wine grape of any colour, first coming to prominence in the 1800s in France’s Bordeaux region, where the grape is still popular. Rather than single-variety wines, Bordeaux reds tend to be blends, with those coming from the left bank of the Gironde estuary being Cabernet-dominant, while right-bank wines are Merlot-dominant, with Cabernet Sauvignon playing a supporting role. Cabernet and Merlot work well together and many other countries have followed suit in blending the two.

A team at University of California Davis put Cabernet Sauvignon through a DNA test in 1996 and discovered its parent grapes are Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc — it’s likely that at some point the two varieties, planted next to each other in some vineyard, crossed and mutated and became the grape we know today. (Someone growing grapes in the 19th century must have had an inkling of what was up, as the grape has been called Cabernet Sauvignon since long before the DNA test.)

Flavour-wise, most Cabernet Sauvignon wines are big and bold, with a core of deep dark berry flavours, some graphite and spice notes and relatively bright acidity. It’s a grape that is well-suited to barrel aging, with most examples seeing at least some time in wood.

Read
Yesterday at 3:00 AM CDT

A quick look at where provinces and territories stand on time changes

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

A quick look at where provinces and territories stand on time changes

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

WINNIPEG - Manitoba's government said Thursday the province will be sticking with daylight time year-round, making it the latest jurisdiction to move away from twice-annual time changes. Here's a look at where things stand across Canada:

British Columbia said in March that it was moving to permanent Pacific daylight time. The change also means that parts of northeastern B.C., which have been on mountain standard time year round, are now in alignment with the rest of the province.

Alberta also switched to permanent daylight time this year in what it calls Alberta time. The change means it now has the same time as Saskatchewan year round.

Saskatchewan has been on permanent central standard time since 1966.

Read
Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Klein has burned bridges with PM, Gillingham says

Joyanne Pursaga 3 minute read Preview

Klein has burned bridges with PM, Gillingham says

Joyanne Pursaga 3 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

One mayoral candidate accused another of writing a column so critical it could compromise his ability to work with the federal government.

Read
Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Hellebuyck standoff caused by… Nathan MacKinnon?

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Preview

Hellebuyck standoff caused by… Nathan MacKinnon?

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Looking for someone to blame in the Connor Hellebuyck fiasco and cast as public enemy No. 1? How about long-time Winnipeg Jets nemesis Nathan MacKinnon?

Allow us to explain as we fire up the time machine and head back to February in Italy.

Oh, what could have been if MacKinnon had been able to score on what appeared to be an open net late in the third period of the men’s gold medal game with Hellebuyck down and seemingly out of position.

Instead, the star forward fired wide, keeping the score deadlocked at 1-1 as the clock ticked down on regulation.

Read
Friday, Sep. 18, 2026