Friends + LIKE + LOVE + Marriage + Babies + ?

Everyone knows that males mature slower than females. Even into adulthood, it's said that a man's maturity level is 5 years less than his actual age. Women reach full (mental/emotional) maturity at age 25. But men don't reach full (mental/emotional) maturity until age 30, or would that actually be 35? I don't know. I just know that fart noises are still funny to me and probably will be for some time. So when it comes to dating, a good rule of thumb is for women to date a few years older and for men to date a few years younger.

Nevertheless, by the time you enter your late 20s things start to change. One night stands and random hook-ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. And girls you once dated are now announcing their engagements! If I learned anything from grade school it's that first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby carriage. While marriage at this point in my life is still somewhat frightening to me, it's nowhere near as terrifying as having a baby! Just typing that four letter curse word, baby, causes a little bit of pee to trickle down my leg.

I feel for women because they have a problem men don't have - a shortage of time. I know as women enter their late 20s their biological clock is tic-toking away. And many start feeling the pressure from family and friends to snag a guy, settle down and have that baby. Of course most guys in their age demographic are too busy giggling over farting noises to hear (or care) the tic-toking of her biological clock. And there lies the problem. People are often in different chapters of their life. So for people to assume you are ready and willing to start a certain phase of your life just because you "hit that average age" seems rather presumptuous and kind of rude. They fail to consider where you are in life or what you want out of life. And most importantly, what precedence (if any) will marriage, kids and career play in your life.