Hi there Canadian Girl, I apologize in advance for the long post I'm about to write. To put my conclusion at the top: I suggest caution, and would not get too involved with him if I were you. Being his girlfriend is fine, but it would be unwise to expect a life commitment from him. Caveat: I'm not Polish. So maybe my opinion does not matter.
When I was his age and younger, I had older girlfriends, including one close to your age. For me, I got a thrill of being the boy toy and getting experience with older women who taught me how to be an excellent lover. I remember thinking to myself, wow. She isn't a girl, she is a WOMAN. Wow! =) But I always knew that I was a toy to them, and they knew the same thing.
An older partner with a younger partner is going to have to be OK with a certain amount of frivolity and immaturity, and when the man is older usually this is endearing to him because it underlines her youth. If the male is the younger one, though, it probably won't 'feel right' because, as Krakowianka describes, problems can arise if the man just isn't old enough yet to act maturely. I think this is because society expects men to be responsible and dominant, which requires real maturity. Meanwhile the relationship is being cemented, with expectations and power dynamic being solidified with a male whose brain has not yet finished developing. This why IMO nobody, male or female, should make a long-term commitment to someone who is not at least 24 years old. They just aren't fully themselves yet and usually aren't able to know what they really want out of life.
Let's play this out a bit further. In 8 years, he will be 30 and you'll be 38. Something men need to understand, but often don't, is that once a man hits 30 he usually becomes a lot more attractive to women. Whereas women become less attractive to men because of their declining looks and fertility. I don't mean this to insult you but rather to try and warn you. It's possible that you and this man could create an amazing love that will withstand the test of time, and only you/he can be the judge of that. My experience, though, suggests there's more than a small chance that he'll want to try again with someone younger, now that he'll have had, by then, some real experience in a long-term relationship. And there will no doubt be younger women out there who will want him. I say this because I've been in his shoes before.
Why is this dynamic I describe accurate? Canadian Girl, I'm not suggesting you don't know and I certainly do not wish to insult you or make any negative comment about you or your situation. Instead I'd like to explain it a bit for the benefit of all readers, especially the younger ones.
Something many women don't understand is that when they're in their 30s they often want men their own age, but they don't quite recognize just how serious an impact her age has on the decline in her looks/sexual market value. Men, on the other hand, are wired biologically to assess how many years of fertility she has left and make major life decisions based on that number. Back to the woman: the change in her was gradual, and if she's attractive she probably got used to all the interest and attention from men. Eventually she will be in for a shock, where she has to realize that she doesn't have quite the sexual market value (SMV) she had back when she was in her 20s. Even if a woman wasn't slutty in her 20s, if she was attractive she had the choice and the SMV to enforce it.
I don't want to be too harsh on women here, but because of their enormous SMV while in the 20s, they stand to lose a lot more than a man does come the 30s and beyond. But for men it is the opposite. Compare this to the typical man, who finds it hard for women to take him seriously in his 20s because he's too young: hasn't established himself, hasn't matured, and isn't ready to settle down -- unless he's in a strict religious community and is therefore willing to marry as a young man so that he can have sex. If the man is unusual in that he becomes highly successful in his 20s -- and stays that way -- well, that can be a different situation but once again such a man will have many options and it would not be in his interest to sign them away too early.
If a woman really wants a man her own age, she should lock him down while both partners are in their 20s. This represents a sacrifice on both sides: the woman is giving up the freedom/power of enjoying every last moment of her peak SMV (her 20s), whereas the man is giving up the freedom/power of enjoying his peak SMV (his 30s).
Since you are 30 now, if you just want a boyfriend, then enjoy this sweet young boy-man and don't worry about it. Build up some good memories you can enjoy for decades to come. If you think you might want a life commitment from him, though, I strongly advise that you protect your heart, and your SMV, and look elsewhere. Specifically, a man in the 35-45 age range. For a man, a younger woman is a sign of social status, and if his woman is older it is actually a negative hit to his social status unless she is conspicuously wealthy (i.e. he is 'marrying up'). Yes, he'd be older than you, but he would also be more established, mature, and reliable. You'll always be younger than him and he'll always take pride in that.
All the best and good luck!
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