Come on, just say it...

I started thinking about this last night after a happy hour with the ladies... Talking is good. Most of the time it is good for you, and it is very often useful for others. When I was a kid, I hated when my dad would say in his best family therapist way (he was one), "sharing is important." But now, I think it is.

Last night, sharing was important. Although, she shall go unnamed, one of the happiest hour participants was just totally honest about, well some aspects of her life. Afterward she couldn't stop apologizing for 'TMI' or that she said a few things about her sex life. You know what? God, it was refreshing to have someone just talk, without measuring every word. I like hearing what people are really thinking about- the real dilemmas they are dealing with. It is fascinating to me and I always feel like I know them better, afterwards.

In both high school and college, my friends were very open, talkative people. With many of those people not here, I occasionally miss those types of conversations where you can say anything (kind of like that cheesy movie). Now, I pick up the phone to call other states if I have sort of, well, private questions or I just talk to husband about it.

So I keep wondering today: Do you only have "those" conversations with people you kind of grew up with? As you grow older do you just stop saying things like that out loud? Is age 25 a magic cut off date and you are either grandfathered in or not? Or is it when people get married that they sort of stop talking outside their marriage about things like that? (Or is it just living in the state that I do?)

Either way, I am having none of it. I think confidants are important all the way through life. So does this study about the importance of friends:

"At least when it comes to longevity, having good friends is better than having a close-knit family. That’s according to a 10-year study, partially funded by National Institute on Aging, and published in the February 2005 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health."

and

"People who said they have many close friends lived significantly longer than people who had more acquaintances than close friends. Still, even the “acquaintance-rich” folks seemed to live longer than people whose social world revolved around their children and other family members."

So I say, talk away, and I will too. I may even say the word S-E-X, but only if you are lucky.