I met yesterday with a vendor, and after commenting on all my beautiful nieces and nephews whose pictures adorn my shelves, he mentioned that at his 20-year high school reunion, he and his wife were surprised to find they weren't the only ones with young children. He said he thinks our generation -- the Generation X thirty-somethings -- are in general waiting later to have kids. Hm. Maybe. I guess I've always measured my experiences with my sisters, both of whom already have kids.
I've also noticed in talking to other single thirty-something women here in NYC that the trend is definitely to get married later in life. They comment how surprised they are with friends and family in the South getting married so young.
In a conversation earlier this week with a 36-year-old friend who's just gotten married, she talked about how once she reached her thirties, she broadened her idea of the type of guy she was looking for. She didn't exclude someone from possibility just because of religion or profession, for example.
Another friend mentioned it to me in a more disturbing way, saying since the field has narrowed considerably as we get older, you get a lot less picky about who's attractive.
The thing is, as I've gotten older, I've gotten MORE discerning. In my case, maybe this is a good thing! I think I settled too much when choosing previous marriage partners. I've also found that as I've gotten more successful in my career, my potential date-ables have lessened. I don't want to be a sugar-mama, and many men still find it threatening if a woman is more successful than they are.
3 comments:
I've always been picky. I didn't care if I was single forever - I wasn't going to settle. And lo and behold - I found a keeper. And I'm in my 30s.
Wish I would have waited....don't you?
I wasn't really picky when I was younger, and I quite frankly just lucked into finding a good man. And 20 years later, we're still together, voluntarily childfree. Families look more and more different all the time.
-- Lisa
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