My heart was pounding as soon as my clothes hit the floor. We were in my bedroom. It was late and dark. After sharing Chinese food, on our second date, a man I knew back in high school invited himself to come over to my house. And I wanted him to. I didn’t hate how forward he was. In fact, I think I needed it. After having sex with the same man for over 21 years and birthing three kids, I wasn’t sure where to begin. He made it easy. Not because I knew him from way back when before...

Welcome to Ask A MWLTF (yes, that’s Mother Who Likes to F*ck), a monthly anonymous advice column from Scary Mommy. Here we’ll dissect all your burning questions about motherhood, sex, romance, intimacy, and friendship, with the help of our columnist, Penelope, a writer and mental health practitioner in training. She’ll dish out her most sound advice for parents on the delicate dance of raising kids without sacrificing other important relationships. Email her at askpenelope@scarymommy.com. Q: I’m newly divorced, finally feeling like myself again, and thinking about dating. Finding someone to have fun and sex with sounds nice, but not worth...

I had it all planned: ease into dating quietly, see how serious it got, then dive into every book and podcast about how to talk to your kids about a new relationship. I was determined to get it right. Everything would be civilized, intentional, emotionally measured, and I’d be ready for all their questions and feelings. What actually happened was this: About six months into dating, my 12-year-old started asking who I was texting so often. I brushed her off, thinking I was being casual, but she wasn’t buying it. Then she noticed the same name popping up repeatedly on...