You Must Be this Old to Ride the Relationship

Since we were ten-years-old, Lauren has wanted to marry Jim Carrey. I remember pointing out to her on numerous occasions that he is twenty-years her senior, but she would always brush those rationalisations aside and insist that one day she would be his bride. As time has gone on, however, Lauren has accepted the fact that she probably will not be Mrs. Carrey and has set more realistic, and younger, aspirations for herself.

As though my post from earlier in the week was some kind of foreshadowing, I happened to meet a very nice man named, Steve, while out with some friends on Tuesday. We got along incredibly well, until he randomly asked me how old I am. I informed him that I'm 23, and he began chuckling to himself. When I asked how old he is, he politely informed me that he is 40.

My age realisation with Steve prompted me to remember Lauren's infatuation with an older man from years ago, which got me thinking: Is there an age limit when it comes to choosing a partner?

With the recent death of Anna Nicole Smith, we have been reminded -- practically everyday since then -- that she was once married to a wealthy old codger who wasn't just old enough to have been her father, but in all likelihood, was probably the age of her grandfather upon his death. Following the millionaire's demise, Anna Nicole took her case all the way to the Supreme Court, fighting for the money that she felt she rightfully deserved from the man she loved. All the while, her late-husband's family -- and the population at large -- insisted that the only thing that Anna Nicole shared with this man was a bank account.

But is it possible that Anna Nicole actually loved J. Howard Marshall II? I'm assuming that had he been a 90-year-old homeless man instead of an oil tycoon, she wouldn't have been initially attracted to him; but who are we to say that the only thing she found attractive were his houses, cars, and piles of money?

Age has always been a deciding factor when choosing a partner. Typically, I prefer to be with someone older (obviously not too old), but my track record proves that that is not a requirement. I remember being eighteen-years-old and meeting a man who was twenty-two and thinking, "Wow, I could never date you, you are way too old for me!" But suddenly I'm twenty-three and I'm finding eighteen-year-olds slightly too immature and inexperienced for my taste. And now, when setting my internal age limit, I typically make it no more than seven or eight years older than me.

Is my age restriction too much of a restriction though? I've always been afraid that dating someone much older would lead to plenty of awkward silences due to a lack of conversation. What can I possibly have to talk about with a man who witnessed the moon landing? However, those moments of silence have come about with some of the men I've dated who are my own age.

I guess to make a blanket statement and say, "I will never date anyone older than..." can be detrimental. But it does seem to take self-confidence to be willing to date someone who is many years your senior (or junior). And maybe Anna Nicole was an example of how age is meaningless and love doesn't discriminate.