I do not think most people understand what people like me are going through. As women on average live longer than men, this is an issue about which all of us should be more aware. Many well-meaning family and friends try to surround the widow immediately after death, and perhaps for the first month or two. Bereavement, however, is a process without a clock, feelings being churned up by the first year of birthdays, holiday, and anniversaries of both marriage and death. You can help by just listening with empathy, realizing that anger is just a normal stage of dealing with death.
Many widows find socializing with married friends to be awkward.
For the widow, get-togethers have few single people, and listening to stories of happy times with spouses, while very normal, often feel like salt in her wounds. This does not mean walking on egg shells around a widow, but rather having enough sensitivity to rethink the inclusion of a widowed person. Dating the new man does not mean forgetting your dead husband. No one can take his place. While you should not forget him, try not to enshrine him.