I've never put the goal before the person

Marriage.

Oh, look at how fast I can run away when that question comes up in conversation.

On a date, "So, PG, do you want to get married, have kids?"

Externally my demeanor is still calm. Internally I am taking a deep breath, slouching and silently say, "fuck, fuck, fuck! Why did they have to bring that up? This is not a conversation I want to have on a first date. Can't we get to know each other first? Crap."
I continue to look my date in the eye and say, "Yeah sure." If I want to see them again. I figure the real conversation can take place in a few more dates.
If I have no desire to see them again, then I'm honest.
It's a good way to weed through people quickly.

I've never put the goal before the person.

You know those people. They want to get married! They want to get married! They are behind on their timeline and damn it! They want to get married!
Um, okay. To just anyone or to someone in particular?

They want to have children. Two. A boy and a girl.
Um, okay. Again with anyone or with someone?
And do you want to have a baby or do you want to be a mother or a father?

I've never met anyone I've wanted to be married to, so how do I know if I want to married?
Commited long-term relationship? Absolutely.
Add a ceremony and a piece of paper? Why?
Legal and property reasons?
You don't have to be married to be entitled to his stuff or for him to be entitled to your stuff. And it's stuff.
Married for last name and the kids?
I don't plan to change my last name. I LOVE my full name. (I think Party Girl has a nice ring to it, don't you?) I would like to keep it, thanks.
Kids? Again, whether the kids and I have the same last name or not I'm sure I will manage to fuck them up in enough ways without having to have the same last name.

When it comes to marriage I am the total cynic.
I'm the person sitting in the church, leaning into the person next to me and whispering, "Two years. Four years tops."
Sadly, I am right more than I am wrong.

Plus, I think a lot of people have the wedding without thinking about what kind of marriage they want. They want the validation of a day.
Haven't you ever thought about how odd it is that two people stand before their family and friends and spend X amount of money doing so all to say, "See I am loved! This person loves ME! Now, give me stuff."
Weddings seem like nothing more than a day to show people that, "hey, this person loves me and this person chose me! ME!"
A couple takes a year or so planning a wedding. How much time goes into thinking about the marriage? The kids?

When asked the marriage question in a group of people I will calmly go around the group and ask, "Married, single, divorced?" Wait for all of their responses and when there are more people who are divorced than are still married or single I then say, "I think I made my point."

My biological clock? I would be the only person who doesn't hear it. I'm 31, almost 32, my eggs started dying about five years ago.
Oh, I think I just felt another one shrivel up.

Do men have the same pressure as a single girl? Probably, but in a different way. At least in my experince your pressure doesn't start until your in your thirties and it seems to be a different kind of pressure. Mine started in my twenties.

When it's asked by friends and co-workers I tend to ignore the question. I mean isn't there more interesting subjects to discuss?
What's the hurry?
Where's the rush?

I want to find the right someone, not the wrong anyone.

I guess I kind of feel like if I end up single, meaning never married, and that's the worst thing that ever happens to me, well then gosh, I think I've lived a pretty damn good life.

Course I say that at almost 32. Get back to me in 10-20 years and see how I feel then. For now, I don't plan to put the goal before the person. If I'm supposed to met him, I will.
I'll be with the right someone, not the wrong anyone.

mushy post over.