Well, apparently Grandmothers should not talk about sex or so I’ve recently been told. It seems that in my last blog post (ways to exercise that did not include going to the gym), I may have crossed the line for some by mentioning the word sex as a form of exercise.
For those of you that did not see it, there was nothing pornographic about it. My comment simply read, "Sex! Well, I don’t think I need to explain or go into detail here, but if you have a partner, this can certainly be great exercise and good for your relationship too ;)”
Most of my baby boomer posts have been about inexpensive ways to look and feel our best while aging gracefully, and the feedback has been positive. However, this time I was very surprised to get private messages telling me that they were shocked or surprised that I would suggest having sex as a form of exercise! (One actually said, "You are a Grandmother after all!") Well, my Grand Daughter is 3 and doesn't read this blog, but that is really beside the point!
Really?!? So Grandparents shouldn't have sex? Or should they just pretend that they don't? Is it an age thing? Or is it a perception thing?
Now, maybe being married to an Ob-Gyn and being very comfortable talking about things openly has clouded my view. Perhaps there is an age in which the idea is taboo? Is there a cutoff I didn't know about? Say 50? Maybe it's 40? What about parents? Is it ok for them to have sex? Or is it just not ok to mention it in any way?
(By the way, I wasn't asking anyone to "envision" this, I simply suggested that sex can be a good form of exercise and I still believe it can be. But I do apologize if I offended anyone, that was never my intention.)
I have been married to the same man for 34 years and I stand by my position that it is both good exercise, and makes for a very healthy relationship. Now, I understand that as we age things change. Perhaps it's the loss of a partner which changes things. That is a different situation and someone may choose not to pursue that avenue with someone else later in life. However, it is important to point out that if there are health issues keeping you from fully enjoying your sex life, you should talk to a doctor. Many of these things can be addressed and age does not have to be the end of a healthy and satisfying sex life.
Since I decided to go down this road again and address it, because frankly it was bothering me that I got such negative responses, I would like to mention a great website and a great blog for anyone interested. There are lots of great suggestions and information for those baby boomers that are still sexually active, or want to be!
The first website is www.grandparents.com. The family and relationships section has great information and the website is a great resource for grandparents in general.
Next is a blog (http://betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com/) that has been done beautifully by Joan Price, an author who has written many books on the subject of sex and aging.
And here is a great article that talks about the health benefits of sex far better than I could ever pretend to: http://articles.philly.com/2013-10-21/news/43222496_1_health-conference-maroon-5-betsy-crane
Again, if I offended anyone by suggesting that baby boomers and yes, even Grandparents should be enjoying a healthy sex life, then I’m sorry!
In all honesty, however, I’m not the least bit worried about people loving other people; I’m far more concerned about all the hate in the world today.
Hugs,
Linda Gomez