Let’s Talk About Sex
May 7, 2013

If someone tells you love is a feeling that sparks in the gut and blooms into an absolute sense of magical knowing that spurts rainbows around your heart, they are so full of shit.
A long-term relationship is the ultimate definition of love. It is a choice. It is work. It is action. It is a job. Trust me. I’ve been working my ass off for over twenty years. But it is a job that comes with incomparable benefits (Yes, let your mind go there. That’s exactly what I mean). More on benefits in a moment.
Every relationship is furrowed with trenches. And guaranteed, you’ll tumble into the trenches and maybe even fall out of love. That’s okay. As long as both of you don’t fall out at the same time, the other will be there, waiting until you find your way back. He/she might even offer a hand to help you up.
Uh oh. Where the hell is this coming from? Well, since I’m writing a romantic manuscript, I’ve spent a lot of time evaluating the elusive concept of love. Real love. Not the culture in romance novels. Not the drugging addiction in the infancy of commitment. I’m trying to capture the real love that can only be found in the back-breaking, sun-spotted, nagging, I’ve-been-doing-this-for-twenty-years-dammit chosen role in a relationship worn by time and apathy.
If you’ve been married as long as I have, you know these trenches intimately. You’re either wallowing in one now, or you’ve recently climbed out, or you’re about to fall and you don’t realize it yet. Yeah, I sound fatalistic. Accept it. Deal with it. And this is how:
Have lots and lots and lots of sex. Make it the first thing you do when you get home from work and the last thing you do before you go to bed. I recommend the just-woke-up-and-late-for-work sex, too. When you’re in a trench and feeling particularly hateful, drag the source of all the world’s problems into the bedroom. I bet you’re not hating him/her as much twenty minutes later. (And if your partner isn’t cooperating, this is where the job comes in. Seduce him/her, you lazy ass.)
Am I delusional? Probably. But not about this. A friend of mine sent me a message today to thank me for giving her the “have lots and lots of sex” advice a couple years ago. She fell into that impending rut and tackled it by challenging herself to seven days of sex. At the end, she was healed. And whenever the next rut comes, she just recharges with sex. Done. “Emotional issues clarified.” <–Her words. Smart girl.
I have a lot of ideas about why this works. It pulls you out of your unproductive head. It keeps you connected to your partner when all the other messy connections are unraveling. It shows devotion where words and emotions fail. And it’s the most primitive, natural, and intimate thing two adults can do together.
Sex is the fringe benefit, one that is too often overlooked. The job requirements include (but are not limited to): communication, trust, patience, tolerance, open-mindedness…seduction.
So, the next time you fall, lose your connection, and feel like choking him as soon as you look at him, then choke him while you’re straddling him. Oh! There’s the connection you were missing.
Now, tell me. What is love? The best answer wins a Guinness (I’ll drink it in your honor).
Now we know why your husband is so smitten :p This was a great random blog, very insightful…and I’ll pass your advice along, and I have a feeling my hubby may want to send some praises your way 🙂 xoxo
Has anyone warned you about pregnancy hormones yet? You should probably order hubby some Viagra.
What is love? He’s snoring next to me!
OMG! I almost spilled my Guinness. No one’s topping that answer.
Love is what my man shows everytime he puts up with my OCD without laughing. Love is my man dealing with my panic attacks by holding me tight in his arms no matter how hard I try to flee. Love is why he has been my rock for the last 20 years 🙂
THAT’S the real work of love. Great answer, Miss.
Caring for someone like the person is yourself.
The golden rule. I couldn’t agree more.
One thing I’ve noticed after being married for nearly 10 years is that — if you work at it — sex with your long term partner can be VERY hot and kinky. Think about it: No one else is as comfortable around you or knows you as well as your partner. So you can suggest and try all kinds of things without feeling weird or judged by it. And you can fine tune everything to the point where you’re both climaxing (sometimes more than once, sometimes together) each and every time.
Great article!
Damn straight, Steve!
Love is yanking my flash drive out of the computer right after the screen goes black and there’s this weird buzzing sound. BF knows that all my writing is stored on the flash drive, so if the computer f’s up, it might, too. He knows exactly how much it (the flash drive and therefore my writing) means to me. I kind of like him.
Bwah ha ha ha! Awesome. Love knows the heart of a writer. I think I like him, too. 🙂