Only 18 percent of single people in their 50s say they are dating -- which means an awful lot of unattached men and women will be sitting out this Valentine's Day. Here's some advice about coping if you're sad about the situation:
1. Don't listen to sad music. This is not a day for digging out the Johnny Mathis collection. And certainly no Adele!
2. You might not want to text or call your adult children and suggest you could come over.
3. Please don't drink too much.
Feeling blue and alcohol are not a great combination any day of the year, but on Valentine's Day, this is just likely to lead to phone calls you regret making. Did you know that the recommended limit of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is seven glasses per week with no more than three on any one day?
4. Or call the ex. Ex-husbands, ex-wives, ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends.
Just don't.
5. Don't stalk anyone on Facebook, including your old high school sweetheart. Actually, make that especially not your old high school sweetheart.
6. Actually, you might want to keep away from Facebook altogether. Valentine's Day is one of the reasons we call it Fraudbook. Nobody needs to look at all those "happy" couples.
7. Don't beat up on yourself for relationships that didn't work out.
8. And today is not the day to start visiting online dating sites.
9. Don't forget who loves you most.
10. So even if it feels like this ...
11. Remember you really are not alone ...
12. Just call them up and invite them over ...
13. And remember, being alone can actually be pretty great!
Also on HuffPost:
