For Women Only: Who Wants Commitment?

The Wall Street Journal's special section: a Guide to Retirement Planning & Living, includes a humorous essay for women who'd like to date men, but don't necessarily want to share their lives 100% with yet another husband.

Andree Aelion Brooks tells her readers about how surprised she is, as a 60-something single woman, not one who thought about herself as so desirable even as a young person, to find that men are pursuing her. Maybe, she muses, compared to her agemates, she's now attractive, fit, independent, and, most importantly...not looking to hitch up again.

What better social life to have, she writes, but to date Harry for the opera, Jack for skiing, Sam for intellectual conversations over a delectable dinner? Brooks is now keen on "playing the field with abandon" as long as she's not hurting anyone's feelings.

Many women who find themselves single after a long time are desperately seeking a mate, but notice that all the available men are looking for much younger women or they are drowning in invitations from all their women acquaintances.

But, Brooks has found a magic formula. Maybe it'll work for you. She is computer-savvy, and thinks that often when one of her male suitors invites her back to his house, it's to pick her brain about how to use a flash-drive, his in-dash navigation system, or download photos from his digital camera. And, she's not at all ready to commit her time to taking care of a man who (statistically speaking) might get ill, frail, and need her help for years to come.

How about you? What's your idea of the ideal relationship in your bonus years?

Comments

[CuriousDina]

Fascinating, but not a surprise. My mom, although widowed, refuses to have even a boyfriend, let alone husband. Her reasoning: she doesn't want to spend her golden years caring for an ailing man.

I'm curious what my readers will say. Hopefully, the trackback will work; otherwise, check www.thismarriagething.com

Thanks for such a cool query.

Dina
http://www.thismarriagething.com

[Karma Kitaj]

Hi, Dina,
Maybe your mom would be willing to comment here too. I'd like to get her take on this phenomenon. It goes against what many of my women clients say...that they are so lonely, especially on unstructured times, such as long holiday weekends and evenings. But, many of them do not have many things that they're passionate about doing, and once their meetings, groups, scheduled activities are over for the day, they wish they were in a committed relationship.