No.
And it's frankly no ones business.... and I'm sure more info than you want... but I did not. Nor did my wife. And this was because of a moral conviction and respect for marriage and sexuality (mine and others). Yeah, you can chuck me up to a good Catholic boy (preached to a LOT on this - and I totally bought into it) but my wife as a good, conservative Presbyterian (who bought into this without being preached at all the time). It also had to do with conversations I had as a young teen (13-16 or so) at a Pro-Life, abortion alternative center where I volunteered. Those counselors often hit me hard during those long periods when there were no mothers at the center (they taught classes at Catholic schools, too). And seeing those moms (some as young as me) pregnant when they didn't want to be. All that soaked in.
I was 13 the first time I had a girl ask me to "go there." And I DO remember every cell of my very heterosexual, hormone super-saturated teen self scream "YES!" but somehow said "no' (I hope kindly). But seriously, I don't ever remember needing to say that again. SOMEHOW, my value there seemed to precede me; girls just somehow knew. Maybe some thought I was weird or gay... maybe some where even disappointed (LOL) but seriously, I think the girls I dated appreciated the value (even if they didn't share it). In the mid teens, being a virgin wasn't at all unusual (a lot more common than boys admit in the locker room) but in college - yeah, it was kinda weird (even for a good Catholic boy like me). Early, I deeply desired a girl like me - "unused" is how I thought of it (LOL) and sharing the same values. Somewhere in college, I realized I was not going to marry a virgin - they just don't exist in the mid to late 20's - and came to be okay with that, sure that just because they did does not mean they can't now embrace that value. Some speak of "virgin again." But as it turned out, I did marry an "unused" girl (sic) with exactly the same value.
I simply hold that we are not dogs in heat. We are humans - made in the image of God - where sex is not only how we reproduce (I wonder how many people know that; it's amazing how many are SHOCKED to find they are pregnant) but is an extremely personal, intimate, close way to share and give self... "make love" actually means something if your not just a dog in heat who can't control yourself. And I believe in the sanctity of Marriage, that Marriage is God's precious gift to us - to bless. And within that BOND of love, that bond of commitment to each other, that bond of BEING here for each other (yeah, that way TOO) actually turns sex into a lot more than perhaps dogs have (and some teens in heat...or with a need to prove they aren't gay or that they are "good" at it or want to learn how to be good at it).
Sorry... I'm sure that's more than you wanted.
A blessed Advent season to you and yours...
- Josiah
.
