The PG-13 Warning is in Full Effect!

WARNING: This post is about s-e-x.

So I was reading one of my very favoritest blogs, Confessions From a Working Mom, and she blogged about shhhhh! yesterday.  Really, it was sex, but she didn't want to say "the s-word."  I'll say it though.  SEX.  See?  It's okay! 

Her post got me to thinking about how a sex life can be so dramatically altered by having a baby.  And then I got to thinking how there can be a million zillion different things that can impact a couple's life together and ultimately alter their sex life.  And if that's the case, then we're always, always going to have excuses as to why we aren't up to it.

So I kept thinking.  We can come up with so many reasons to not have sex with our husbands.  And many of them are understandable and totally valid.  Others, not so much.  But no matter what the reason, maybe -- maybe -- we should stop thinking about why we don't want to have sex.  Because really, from what I can tell, there are more reasons to just do it.

At least that's how I feel.  Especially after reading this in Sheet Music by Dr. Kevin Leman:

If you wanted your husband to converse more and he simply said, “Sorry, talk just doesn’t interest me as much as it interests you,” you’d be hurt, wouldn’t you? In fact, some of you probably have husbands who have said something very similar. Or if your husband was habitually lazy, refusing to help, saying that working around the house held little interest for him, you’d soon grow weary of his disinterest and want him to change, wouldn’t you?

When you tell your husband you just don’t have any interest in sex, you’re doing the same thing. In fact, what you’re doing is worse. You can always call up a girlfriend to talk or hire a handyman to work around the house, but your husband has no place else to go to express sexual intimacy.

Sex is the one thing I can give The Husband that no one else can.  With great power comes great responsibility.  Using that knowledge as a weapon is totally using that power for evil rather than good.  It shouldn't be something I use as a reward, or take away as punishment.  It's meant to be part of the marriage, not just a bonus.

And as I commented to Elizabeth, I know I get super grumpy if we go more than a couple of days without it.  I'm moody moodier, I snap at the girls easier, and I'm even short with my friends.

If that's not enough, an article at webmd.com gives 10 health benefits.  Sex...

1. relieves stress. 
2. boosts immunity.
3. burns calories. 
4. improves cardiovascular health. 
5. boosts self-esteem. 
6. improves intimacy. 
7. reduces pain. 
8. reduces prostate cancer risk.
9. strengthens pelvic floor muscles. 
10. helps you sleep better. 

Some days I daydream about what's going to happen after the girls are in bed asleep and The Husband and I have time to ourselves.  Other days I quietly hope that he just wants to watch some TV and go to bed.  But on those days when my hopes are dashed and I see that look in his eye, more often than not we end up burning some calories.

And you know what?

I can't think of one time when I've thought afterwards, "Man, I wish I could've just gone to bed."

So.  The bottom line is that I know that not having sex rarely, if ever, makes things better.  The benefits to having sex with The Husband are plentiful.

Sex wins.