Two Day Magazine

Dear Natalie,

I am a mother of four beautiful children ranging in ages from 20-13. I desperately want another (I’m 42), but my husband is adamantly opposed to it. He worries about putting them all through college, not having the energy to keep up with them, and worries that our “golden years” will be tarnished with child-rearing. He wants to retire in ten years and travel. I haven’t told him, but I am secretly planning to go off the pill and am hoping to “accidentally” get pregnant. But my girlfriends have told me this is incredibly deceptive and could ruin my marriage. What do you think?

--Mama Bear

Dear Natalie,

My girlfriend and I have been dating for only about two months and she is already whining that she wants a key to my place. I don’t really feel ready for that, and when I told her, she exploded. She basically is threatening to break up with me now because she thinks I’m cheating. (I’m not.) I’m just not ready for the next step. Should I cave so she gets off my back?

--Locked In

Dear Natalie,

Is it possible to be in love with two men at once? I really am totally in love with my husband, but I have met someone at work that I have really hit it off with and I feel as though I am falling for him. Is this possible?

--Playing With Fire

Dear Natalie,

I just started my second year of college and I am single. I really want to date and have a boyfriend and I have no idea how to go about it! How do you meet guys while in college? FYI, I am NOT going to go to any stupid frat parties.

--Ready to Mingle

Dear Natalie,

My boyfriend is always choosing his friends over me. It seems like every weekend he has plans with his friends and we end up just watching movies on the couch on Sundays together. I have told him that this bothers me. We both spend little quality time during the week because we are both so busy, so the weekends are so important in order for us to reconnect. But, he’d rather be drinking beers with the boys. How do I get him to snap out of this? We’ve been dating for five months and I want to know if things are going to go to the next level.

--Second Fiddle

Dear Natalie,

One of my closest girlfriends seems to have no interest in dating. She is pushing thirty and doesn’t really seem to have her priorities in order. She is all about her work (she is a budding stylist) and all she wants to focus on is furthering her career. But I keep telling her that she isn’t getting any younger and that she should really start thinking about looking for a man. She just laughs and says, “What do I need one of those for?” How can I convince her to stop messing around and get serious about dating? I am engaged and I don’t want her to be left in the dust.

--One is the Loneliest Number

Dear Natalie,

My boyfriend just got offered a really great job. Unfortunately, it happens to be on the other side of the country. (I live in California and this job would relocate him to Massachusetts.) Now, with the economy the way it is, I can’t blame him for wanting to take the job, but he said he “feels bad” about it and doesn’t want to leave me. We have been dating for two years and I thought we were on the “marriage track” but now I am not sure. I am a school teacher and can’t imagine leaving my students, but he wants me to come with him, as this is a very lucrative position he is being offered. What should I do?

--Move for Love?

Dear Natalie,

What are your thoughts on “breath control play”? I have heard it can really intensify orgasms, but I also know it can be very dangerous. Should I try it with my girlfriend?

--Holding My Breath

Dear Natalie,

Is it okay to attend just the reception at a wedding and not the ceremony? I’ve been going to a lot of weddings lately and am unsure of the proper etiquette. What is your opinion?

--Wedding Guest Overload

Dear Natalie,

Silly question, but where does the term “missionary” position come from?

Thanks!

-Just Curious

Dear Natalie,

I love my girlfriend, but she is a terrible dresser. Every time we go out, she is either in sweatpants or clothes from the 90s and she looks ridiculous. She has a great body, but never shows it off and she just doesn’t dress like the professional business owner that she is. We are supposed to go to a big client dinner for my work in the next week or so and I am worried as to what she will wear to the event. Is there anyway to tell her that she looks bad and to get her new clothes without hurting her feelings? At this point, I would be willing to shell out a lot of money to buy her a new wardrobe.

--Wardrobe Malfunction

Dear Natalie,

My boyfriend and I have a great relationship, but he is video-game OBSESSED to the point where I have literally stripped naked in front of him and he hasn’t even noticed. He just keeps playing his stupid games. I know once in a while there is nothing wrong with gaming, but seriously? Sometimes, I go to bed and he comes in hours later, expecting sex from ME at 4am after he was gaming all night. What the hell???

-Virtual Girlfriend

Dear Natalie,

How do you know if you are ready for a relationship? I have been single since my divorce (which was three years ago) and recently have been feeling “antsy” and wanting to get out there again, but I’m petrified. I’m a single mom of two small kids who has joint custody with their father. Is it really selfish to want to date again?

-Missing Out

Dear Natalie,

I recently caught my boyfriend looking at women’s pantyhose fetish sites. We have been dating for a little over six months and our sex life has always been pretty boring. When I confronted him about the sites, he became really embarrassed and said he didn’t want to talk about it. But, I’m mad that he has been holding out on me. What does he want me to do? I would wear pantyhose for him! Why is he so shy?

--Control Hose

Dear Natalie,

My best friend’s husband treats her like a maid. They have a 3-year old daughter together and he expects her to take care of her full time, clean, cook, wait on him hand and foot when he gets home from his corporate office job and keep herself in perfect shape. She has been crying on my shoulder that she is so unhappy and doesn’t know what to do. She even lays his clothes out for him in the morning and brings him the paper in bed. It wouldn’t be so bad if he treated her with respect and took good emotional care of her, but he is mean and verbally abusive. She refuses to get a divorce. What should she do? What should I do? I hate seeing her like this.

-Concerned for a Friend