I see no reason to euphemize "widowed" with "recently single." That actually seems disingenuous to me. The real problem would be your statement that you will "always BE IN LOVE with her." That identifies an ongoing process--not the ability to place your grief in the past. I think Ms. Silverfox's last sentence would be a wonderful one to use: you hope to find that kind of relationship again.

I am sorry for your loss and wish you the best.

It might be "disingenuous" to use a euphemism when saying you are widowed and you are over fifty. However, I was 27 when my bride of less than a year died suddenly, at the age of 23. When you are that young, and you tell someone you are widowed, people really don't know how to react. I'm sure that, much like Navygirl said, some probably thought I was trying to pull a scam.

Last year was the first time in my life that I told someone of my loss and receiving what seemed like genuine sympathy. I think you have to take the person's age into account when relating the subject. When you're young enough, it just seems an impossibility that something like that could have happened.

So please, don't judge my advice to harshly. I just stating it from my experiences.