[SmartBlondeGPhB]

There is a member of my alumnae chapter in her 40's who's never been married and a couple of years ago we were having this very same conversation. She has a number of female friends who are divorced and she said they were all finding that yes, indeed, men in their generation DID want wives that were like their mothers. BUT, the women in her generation were either divorced or never got married in the first place so they were happily supporting themselves and weren't looking for a man to take care of them. Definite disconnect........

I was raised to be self sufficient and not rely on anyone but myself, I saw too much divorce growing up to ever think that I would have a man who would ALWAYS be there to support me.

Through dating, I have found that some men are intimidated by women (IQ is irrelevant) who have absolutely no NEED for them. I'm not being mean there, just pointing out that a woman (like myself) who has gone to grad school, has a career, and is more than capable of taking care of herself doesn't want a man who is going to try to take care of her. She wants one who can be her equal and share in life. The only men I ever NEED are plumbers and electricians and I can hire those. The distinction is between NEED and WANT and it is huge.

I am not married (at 35) and my response to anyone would be that so far in life "I've had better things to do". I am now starting a new career which if done properly, will set me up for life.

Not to mention that I've become pretty picky in my old age and have yet to find any guy I would want to be married to (and vice versa).