I think you're on to something. Someone I know socially (falling into the nebulous class I would call "bar buddies") tried to talk to me about monshu last night and it was evident he was in the same boat as princeofcairo, never having seriously thought before what life would be like without his spouse. So he was expecting me to be on the same page when I was really chapters ahead. As a result, I think I ended up consoling him more than he consoled me.