Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I have no one to send flowers to. I have two marriages that ended, plus a string of short-lived relationships. Don't get me wrong - I see the positives. Nevertheless, I could be doing better. Love is never easy, but on top of everything else, we are contending with an illness that sets us up to be alone. The statistics are sobering, indicating that living in a loving relationship may be beyond the reach of many or that we have given up trying.

This week's question is rather involved:

To those of you in a loving relationship, what advice do you have for those of us who are not? What issues in particular did you have to work on to both attract a partner and keep that partner? How do you manage a loving relationship with your illness?

To those of you not presently in a loving relationship, what have you learned from your past relationships? Is there anything you would do different this time around? Or have you decided that living alone is best suited for you?

Please feel free to write the definitive manual. Comments below ...