Divorce, Single Parenting, Dating, Sex, & Self-Recovery

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pendulous motion

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[from a second wave – poetry]

today my bed is filled with books of poetry
and speeding tickets
my head is filled with popsicle desires
and the most perfect breasts
i’ve ever seen
how are these things, these collisions
possible in my simple, subdued life
how did we get this far along
before ever mentioning we were starting
and with a quick inhale and push from the wall
we were underwater and overboard
with boobs and hair and rocking back and forth
in an expression of abandon
hopefulness
and sorrow
all in a mater of minutes
and a moment of hold, tighten, release

as i was getting dressed
i couldn’t help but admire
the craftsmanship of the figure
the honing and tapering of the crossfit
hot yoga afternoons and all kinds of other motions

only one mattered at that point
the departure
as we’d not be formally introduced
nor had the time to figure out
sleeping arrangements
or preferences
and the dog needed a walk
and the night air was finally
getting colder
as August
began to give way to fall

and waving from the sidewalk
i was still intoxicated with her smell
and the feeling of her
happiness
and
pendulous
motion

8-13-2014

image: yoga, adifansnet, creative commons usage

 

Erectile Misfire Might Be More About the Sex Than the Dysfunction

OFF-happypills

I will have to put this out first, I have no experience with Viagra(tm) or any of its variants from other pharma companies. That said, I have had occasional drooping member issues. For the most part those occurrences were either alcohol or exhaustion related. BUT… the variant I’d like to examine for a second, from my perspective, is the misfire that is a result of some other issues or distractions.

This is not a scientific study, and I hold no degrees in relationship counseling or medical diagnosis. All I have is myself and my experience for data. But even from this small and finite sample set, I am certain that I have identified several patterns that cause my excitement to exit the room. And of course it’s a two-way street, I have not been able to unlock every single woman I’ve been with either. But I can tell you I give it a very thorough try, and experiment, and I ask for feedback. Still, sometimes things don’t jive. It happens.

I was more aware of the disconnection between the sex I wanted and the sex I was about to engage in.

One woman I was with, since divorce, let me know in the same sentence that I had been amazing and that me not having an orgasm was really just about my brain and my thing. While she went on to be less insightful about her own massive issues, and the relationship didn’t work out, I did appreciate her simple approach. “It’s all in your head,” she said. And in this case I agree.

Here are the several situations that have shut down my sexual response in the past.

1. If the act no longer seems pleasing to the woman. Sure, sometimes you need to be able to sit back and let the other person take control. This is awesome. But when the act starts to take on the tone of a chore or obligation, I’m done. “Let’s do something else.” If I can tell that you are not into it, or getting impatient, I’m going to freeze up and try as I may, my manliness will wilt under the “gitterdun” gaze. (I understand that this is a thing for women too.)

2. If we’re tired, or you’re not into it, let’s stop. It’s okay. And what I’ve learned ever more powerfully since my divorce, the orgasm is not the end-all be-all of sex. The act of making love is awesome by itself. Sometimes I even try to delay orgasm for me so I can just enjoy the time in the act.

Sex is all in the mind. If your mind is elsewhere, I’d rather let you go do whatever it is that is distracting you from being enthusiastically present with me.

3. Those far away eyes. The first time my wife looked bored during sex I was shocked. We’d just gotten her off and now it was my turn. And there was the moment, where I would’ve sworn, had she been wearing a watch, that she was checking her watch. Of course she wasn’t checking her watch, but something in her look, or non-look showed me she had checked out. She was waiting, somewhat patiently, to finish. Well, I was finished right away. It wasn’t about orgasm for me, that was a topper. It was about connection. And when that connection was severed, the very first time, I knew things were off between us. And from then on, I admit, I was a bit sensitive to her attention. Sex is about a connection for me, not about a release. All the mechanics aside, if there’s no connection between me and my sexual partner, I would rather go fishing.

4. The other person is sort of into it. But you can tell it’s a bit of a stretch. Maybe they are distracted, or there’s other things on their mind. In my opinion it’s better to skip it, rather than jump into a half-enthusiastic sex session. Sex is not like tv, it’s not a distraction. Everything else is the distraction. If you can’t pay attention during sex, well, what would you rather be paying attention to? Go do that. Because sex with a partially engaged partner is just slightly better than masturbation. And sometimes, not as good.

The several times I have run into my own moments of self-doubt, wondered if I needed to go see Mr. Viagra, and even began to question my own sex drive, I was more aware of the disconnection between the sex I wanted and the sex I was about to engage in. Sometimes you can trick your brain into thinking half-present sex is okay. But after a while your own body begins to sniff our the signals of the underwhelmed partner.

Sex is all in the mind. If your mind is elsewhere, I’d rather let you go do whatever it is that is distracting you from being enthusiastically present with me. The several times I wondered about my own sexual potency, I realized it was much more about my heart and my intention in making love in the first place. When the passion, connection, and desire is there, I have yet to misfire. When it’s not there, I have begun to listen to the signals rather than try to override them.

Sincerely,

The Off Parent
@theoffparent

back to On Dating Again

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image: my rainbow has fallen down, scarleth marie, creative commons usage

poetic naps

OFF-skydive

[from a second wave – poetry]

when a poet naps
strange things happen
in the prayer for the coming of sleep
his mind may wander to the
different words to describe
the falling of rain
the falling of october leaves
and falling in love
and binding some
theme in-between and beyond
as the words begin to fade
and shimmer into the next dream
without words
just sounds
images
colors
smells
and
falling

8-10-2014

image: irány a nap, attila miletics, creative commons usage

up and away

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[from a second wave – poetry]

alter my state
break the language
into sound and tone
and help me escape
an endless afternoon
this summer heat
has pushed me back
inside and inward
i crave expansion
explosions and fire
shooting skyward
in multi-patterned bursts
i cannot take flight
alone
in need your friction
and fizzle
to ignite my day
and burn through the night
i have set traps
built altars
begun to mumble
incantations
to draw your flutter
to my flame
and now i await
amazed at the waiting
for what might arrive
and how you
first
appear

8-8-14

image: neither fish nor man, jewelry for sale on etsy, creative commons usage

goodnight and go

[from a second wave – poetry]

every snapshot in my mind
of your beautiful smile
the voice that rubs a warm spot
in my chest
i am fascinated
in tow by heartstrings
un-before discovered
played now
like some fine symphony
bowed or plucked strummed
and ringing with joy

8-7-14

image: imogen heap, promo photo, creative commons usage

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