OP you sound a bit clueless and immature, which is why your family is probably pushing you to propose. She probably seems really great to them, and you probably seem clueless or passive to them.

First of all, stop talking about “what my family believes” in terms of marriage. What do YOU believe? What do you think is the recipe for a successful lifelong relationship, and what is YOUR agency in creating that?

Second of all, you do not in fact have infinite time. As men approach and pass 40 their options do narrow (albeit less than women) and as your sperm ages the risk of birth defects & disabilities for your kids increases. So you should seriously consider whether a woman like your girlfriend is replaceable.

Of course not. If we are interested in marriage, we will broach the conversation. If she hasn’t or hasn’t advanced the conversation, how presumptuous are you to think she’s even interested in marriage, much less to you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you two?

Why do you feel like you’re not ready to make a life long commitment? Is it something about her, or something about commitment?

OP here. I’m in love with and see a future with her. I’ve never thought about marrying a woman before I met her. It’s still just scary because my family doesn’t believe in divorce and it’s a lifelong commitment. I don’t feel like there is a rush when it’s a decision that can determine the rest of your life.

It’s not a rush, but it’s common sense that you can make this decision in a reasonable amount of time. You’re thirty five for pete’s sake!

If you’ve never thought about marrying a woman before at your big age, what were you doing with women up until then? What kind of metric of assurance do you expect to meet before you are ready?

I would agree that you’re not ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “rush” to get engaged at one year. It means you are fairly immature and have not yet seriously evaluated what you want out of life. It’s not fair to do this kind of soul searching on another person’s time.

OP here. Again, I don’t believe in divorce and want to get it right. Between 32 and 35, I was working on solidifying my financial future.

I also took a break for a bit because my serious relationship before my current ended terribly when I found out she was cheating on me with multiple men.

I’ve worked hard to obtain several degrees and work my way up in my career. I’ve spent the last several years making sure I have a good financial backing for when I have a family. Being an active parent is extremely important to me, and I’ve set myself up where I can take off time or work less hours a week, and still provide for my family. I earn enough and have enough in savings and investments to support my future wife if she chooses to stay home. These are the things that are really important to me before I have a family.

OP here. This is exactly what my dad did. I believe kids need both parents. My dad was able to be home by 4pm daily to care for us. He was at every sports activity, school event, celebration, etc. He was able to provide my mom with the luxury of taking years off work to raise us. They both retired early and live every comfortably after sending all 4 kids to college and buying multiple homes. This is the same life I want to offer my future family.

Oh, snd my ex cheated on me because I didn’t give her enough of my time, even though I was working hard to setup our future together.

How are you going to have 4 kids if you're already 35 and not even engaged?

OP here. I never said I was going to have 4 kids. I said my parents had 4 kids. My girlfriend only wants 2 or maybe 3.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you two?

Why do you feel like you’re not ready to make a life long commitment? Is it something about her, or something about commitment?

OP here. I’m in love with and see a future with her. I’ve never thought about marrying a woman before I met her. It’s still just scary because my family doesn’t believe in divorce and it’s a lifelong commitment. I don’t feel like there is a rush when it’s a decision that can determine the rest of your life.

It’s not a rush, but it’s common sense that you can make this decision in a reasonable amount of time. You’re thirty five for pete’s sake!

If you’ve never thought about marrying a woman before at your big age, what were you doing with women up until then? What kind of metric of assurance do you expect to meet before you are ready?

I would agree that you’re not ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “rush” to get engaged at one year. It means you are fairly immature and have not yet seriously evaluated what you want out of life. It’s not fair to do this kind of soul searching on another person’s time.

OP here. Again, I don’t believe in divorce and want to get it right. Between 32 and 35, I was working on solidifying my financial future.

I also took a break for a bit because my serious relationship before my current ended terribly when I found out she was cheating on me with multiple men.

I’ve worked hard to obtain several degrees and work my way up in my career. I’ve spent the last several years making sure I have a good financial backing for when I have a family. Being an active parent is extremely important to me, and I’ve set myself up where I can take off time or work less hours a week, and still provide for my family. I earn enough and have enough in savings and investments to support my future wife if she chooses to stay home. These are the things that are really important to me before I have a family.

OP here. This is exactly what my dad did. I believe kids need both parents. My dad was able to be home by 4pm daily to care for us. He was at every sports activity, school event, celebration, etc. He was able to provide my mom with the luxury of taking years off work to raise us. They both retired early and live every comfortably after sending all 4 kids to college and buying multiple homes. This is the same life I want to offer my future family.

Oh, snd my ex cheated on me because I didn’t give her enough of my time, even though I was working hard to setup our future together.

You seem very, very avoidant. Spending time at work to make money ostensibly *for* her is not the same thing as spending time *with* her. Work can be a way of avoiding relationships. You need to open your eyes to that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you two?

Why do you feel like you’re not ready to make a life long commitment? Is it something about her, or something about commitment?

OP here. I’m in love with and see a future with her. I’ve never thought about marrying a woman before I met her. It’s still just scary because my family doesn’t believe in divorce and it’s a lifelong commitment. I don’t feel like there is a rush when it’s a decision that can determine the rest of your life.

It’s not a rush, but it’s common sense that you can make this decision in a reasonable amount of time. You’re thirty five for pete’s sake!

If you’ve never thought about marrying a woman before at your big age, what were you doing with women up until then? What kind of metric of assurance do you expect to meet before you are ready?

I would agree that you’re not ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “rush” to get engaged at one year. It means you are fairly immature and have not yet seriously evaluated what you want out of life. It’s not fair to do this kind of soul searching on another person’s time.

OP here. Again, I don’t believe in divorce and want to get it right. Between 32 and 35, I was working on solidifying my financial future.

I also took a break for a bit because my serious relationship before my current ended terribly when I found out she was cheating on me with multiple men.

I’ve worked hard to obtain several degrees and work my way up in my career. I’ve spent the last several years making sure I have a good financial backing for when I have a family. Being an active parent is extremely important to me, and I’ve set myself up where I can take off time or work less hours a week, and still provide for my family. I earn enough and have enough in savings and investments to support my future wife if she chooses to stay home. These are the things that are really important to me before I have a family.

OP here. This is exactly what my dad did. I believe kids need both parents. My dad was able to be home by 4pm daily to care for us. He was at every sports activity, school event, celebration, etc. He was able to provide my mom with the luxury of taking years off work to raise us. They both retired early and live every comfortably after sending all 4 kids to college and buying multiple homes. This is the same life I want to offer my future family.

Oh, snd my ex cheated on me because I didn’t give her enough of my time, even though I was working hard to setup our future together.

How are you going to have 4 kids if you're already 35 and not even engaged?

It is an important decision. Since your girlfriend is not pressuring you and you’re not entirely sure, it makes sense to wait a little longer. But within a year, you either need to take a leap of faith and propose or break up with her. It’s not fair to her if she wants kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you two?

Why do you feel like you’re not ready to make a life long commitment? Is it something about her, or something about commitment?

OP here. I’m in love with and see a future with her. I’ve never thought about marrying a woman before I met her. It’s still just scary because my family doesn’t believe in divorce and it’s a lifelong commitment. I don’t feel like there is a rush when it’s a decision that can determine the rest of your life.

It’s not a rush, but it’s common sense that you can make this decision in a reasonable amount of time. You’re thirty five for pete’s sake!

If you’ve never thought about marrying a woman before at your big age, what were you doing with women up until then? What kind of metric of assurance do you expect to meet before you are ready?

I would agree that you’re not ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “rush” to get engaged at one year. It means you are fairly immature and have not yet seriously evaluated what you want out of life. It’s not fair to do this kind of soul searching on another person’s time.

OP here. Again, I don’t believe in divorce and want to get it right. Between 32 and 35, I was working on solidifying my financial future.

I also took a break for a bit because my serious relationship before my current ended terribly when I found out she was cheating on me with multiple men.

I’ve worked hard to obtain several degrees and work my way up in my career. I’ve spent the last several years making sure I have a good financial backing for when I have a family. Being an active parent is extremely important to me, and I’ve set myself up where I can take off time or work less hours a week, and still provide for my family. I earn enough and have enough in savings and investments to support my future wife if she chooses to stay home. These are the things that are really important to me before I have a family.

OP here. This is exactly what my dad did. I believe kids need both parents. My dad was able to be home by 4pm daily to care for us. He was at every sports activity, school event, celebration, etc. He was able to provide my mom with the luxury of taking years off work to raise us. They both retired early and live every comfortably after sending all 4 kids to college and buying multiple homes. This is the same life I want to offer my future family.

Oh, snd my ex cheated on me because I didn’t give her enough of my time, even though I was working hard to setup our future together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you two?

Why do you feel like you’re not ready to make a life long commitment? Is it something about her, or something about commitment?

OP here. I’m in love with and see a future with her. I’ve never thought about marrying a woman before I met her. It’s still just scary because my family doesn’t believe in divorce and it’s a lifelong commitment. I don’t feel like there is a rush when it’s a decision that can determine the rest of your life.

It’s not a rush, but it’s common sense that you can make this decision in a reasonable amount of time. You’re thirty five for pete’s sake!

If you’ve never thought about marrying a woman before at your big age, what were you doing with women up until then? What kind of metric of assurance do you expect to meet before you are ready?

I would agree that you’re not ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “rush” to get engaged at one year. It means you are fairly immature and have not yet seriously evaluated what you want out of life. It’s not fair to do this kind of soul searching on another person’s time.

OP here. Again, I don’t believe in divorce and want to get it right. Between 32 and 35, I was working on solidifying my financial future.

I also took a break for a bit because my serious relationship before my current ended terribly when I found out she was cheating on me with multiple men.

I’ve worked hard to obtain several degrees and work my way up in my career. I’ve spent the last several years making sure I have a good financial backing for when I have a family. Being an active parent is extremely important to me, and I’ve set myself up where I can take off time or work less hours a week, and still provide for my family. I earn enough and have enough in savings and investments to support my future wife if she chooses to stay home. These are the things that are really important to me before I have a family.

How convenient that those are all reasons to delay commitment to any woman.

If you want to be an "active parent" it's best to have the kids before you're 40. Which means you need to start the process of getting married very soon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you just want to be DINKs then who cares. Also at your age, she might be best you'll ever be able to do. Let's say she hits 30 and all her friends start hitting their major life milestones and you're still not ready, but she is, and dumps you. You're now back in the dating pool with a different, older crowd of women.

OP here. Most older men always find younger women. They almost always pass up the older women for younger. Not saying it’s right but I think men my age still go for 23-30 year old women.

My point is that they are less likely to go for you as you age.

OP here. I don’t agree with that. Many men my age still date younger women and I think they can always get that. It’s women over 35 that have a harder time of ever finding a partner because men my age won’t date them.

No, they can't always get that. They might be able to find a woman who is numerically younger, but as a man ages, the *quality* of young woman he can attract drops significantly. If you want to make that tradeoff, fine. But don't pretend it isn't there.

You say your kids deserve an intact family, okay. Do they also deserve a father who's young enough to effectively parent them, and will live long enough to see his grandkids? Because if you keep being indecisive, they're not going to have that. First you're saying that marriage is a big decision, delay delay delay. Then you'll be saying that having a kid is a big decision, delay more. Then you'll delay the second kid because that's a big decision too.

Yes, marrying is a risk. But you know what else is a risk? Your girlfriend deciding you're much too indecisive and not serious about you, and dumping you to marry someone else. You say you love her. Do you want that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you two?

Why do you feel like you’re not ready to make a life long commitment? Is it something about her, or something about commitment?

OP here. I’m in love with and see a future with her. I’ve never thought about marrying a woman before I met her. It’s still just scary because my family doesn’t believe in divorce and it’s a lifelong commitment. I don’t feel like there is a rush when it’s a decision that can determine the rest of your life.

It’s not a rush, but it’s common sense that you can make this decision in a reasonable amount of time. You’re thirty five for pete’s sake!

If you’ve never thought about marrying a woman before at your big age, what were you doing with women up until then? What kind of metric of assurance do you expect to meet before you are ready?

I would agree that you’re not ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “rush” to get engaged at one year. It means you are fairly immature and have not yet seriously evaluated what you want out of life. It’s not fair to do this kind of soul searching on another person’s time.

OP here. Again, I don’t believe in divorce and want to get it right. Between 32 and 35, I was working on solidifying my financial future.

I also took a break for a bit because my serious relationship before my current ended terribly when I found out she was cheating on me with multiple men.

I’ve worked hard to obtain several degrees and work my way up in my career. I’ve spent the last several years making sure I have a good financial backing for when I have a family. Being an active parent is extremely important to me, and I’ve set myself up where I can take off time or work less hours a week, and still provide for my family. I earn enough and have enough in savings and investments to support my future wife if she chooses to stay home. These are the things that are really important to me before I have a family.

I'd give it another year. She is in no rush either and just started her job/new career.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you just want to be DINKs then who cares. Also at your age, she might be best you'll ever be able to do. Let's say she hits 30 and all her friends start hitting their major life milestones and you're still not ready, but she is, and dumps you. You're now back in the dating pool with a different, older crowd of women.

OP here. Most older men always find younger women. They almost always pass up the older women for younger. Not saying it’s right but I think men my age still go for 23-30 year old women.

My point is that they are less likely to go for you as you age.

OP here. I don’t agree with that. Many men my age still date younger women and I think they can always get that. It’s women over 35 that have a harder time of ever finding a partner because men my age won’t date them.

You're living in a bubble then. You're not going to be pushing 40 and marrying someone substantially younger.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you two?

Why do you feel like you’re not ready to make a life long commitment? Is it something about her, or something about commitment?

OP here. I’m in love with and see a future with her. I’ve never thought about marrying a woman before I met her. It’s still just scary because my family doesn’t believe in divorce and it’s a lifelong commitment. I don’t feel like there is a rush when it’s a decision that can determine the rest of your life.

It’s not a rush, but it’s common sense that you can make this decision in a reasonable amount of time. You’re thirty five for pete’s sake!

If you’ve never thought about marrying a woman before at your big age, what were you doing with women up until then? What kind of metric of assurance do you expect to meet before you are ready?

I would agree that you’re not ready for marriage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “rush” to get engaged at one year. It means you are fairly immature and have not yet seriously evaluated what you want out of life. It’s not fair to do this kind of soul searching on another person’s time.

Anonymous wrote:The 1 year mark is a totally arbitrary way to decide when to make this type of commitment. It just matters that you are on the same page and it sounds like you are. Everyone else can cool it.

Agree with this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you just want to be DINKs then who cares. Also at your age, she might be best you'll ever be able to do. Let's say she hits 30 and all her friends start hitting their major life milestones and you're still not ready, but she is, and dumps you. You're now back in the dating pool with a different, older crowd of women.

OP here. Most older men always find younger women. They almost always pass up the older women for younger. Not saying it’s right but I think men my age still go for 23-30 year old women.

My point is that they are less likely to go for you as you age.

OP here. I don’t agree with that. Many men my age still date younger women and I think they can always get that. It’s women over 35 that have a harder time of ever finding a partner because men my age won’t date them.