to ddsmith: you are right to think when I'm 42, she will be 52, somewhere around 50, menopause will set in, seems like most gals go thru the physical, mental, and hormonal change around then. some are worse than others, some will have uncontrollabe weight gain, lose interest in sex, and get pretty crazy in the head. meanwhile you still got a lot of good years left, and thinking I don't need this shit.
almost all women want a commitment out of a relationship. first is exclusive dating, see no one else, then comes the marriage or pairing up for life commitment. I think it's just natural.
I have a friend who dated a foreign exchange student, they hooked up early in her 2 yr visit, and both agreed it was the best relationship because they knew it was only temporary. they did not try to change each other, to make each other conform to their ideals or dream man/woman. they both said the sex was fantastic(my friend is literally hung like a horse, 10" & thick, so that was no surprise). they had their arguments, and spats, settled them and lived and loved their lives.
I met a gal one friday nite, and after spending the entire weekend with her, she told me she was engaged to be married!!!! she told me this as she was packing Sunday afternoon. she said she had a good time, loved the sex, thanked me for fucking her brains out, she really needed that, said I had a big cock, knew how to use, one of the best fucks she ever had, etc. AND then said she would probably be back in 2 weeks and we could do it all over again. and sure enuf she came back, and I had no steady gf, so off to the weekend sex Olympics again. we did this every other week thing for months. after the third weekend, she wanted a commitment. I said you are gonna get married, and you want a commitment from me???? I told her I liked her a lot, possibly could love her, but the engaged thing kind of prevented that line of thinking, and I told her I did not know if I could continue seeing her. so we skipped the next 2 week rendezvous. and in that month I met, dated, & laid a gorgeous little gal, no strings attached. so the next time "engaged" showed up, I was with new gf. she got all pissed off. and caused quite a scene. my new gf wondered what was going on? and I told her the truth. she was very understanding, loved the part where I said I wanted something more than a just a "sex" relationship. she said she thougth this gal was using me for my big cock, that she had been used for her body, and hoped we could enjoy our physical attraction and develop something beyond the physical. and we did, we got head over heals in love. I was making plans for our future and she joined right in, and then suddenly, she wanted out. she did not want to commit to me. she got cold feet. guess what, I started fucking the other gal every other w/end again, but it was different. and finally that just died. she did marry the guy eventually.