My family opposes my relationship with an older woman

Josh writes,"I met a woman who is 39 years old and I'm 23 years old. I like this woman and I plan on marrying her. The only reason is that I don't know if my family accepts that I want to marry her. I have been looking for an engagement ring for her because I want to propose to her. What should I do and also would we be able to have kids in the future?"

Well, congratulations, because such relationships are now fairly common and at least as successful as others.

Now regarding acceptance by your family, well, what is more important to you. Your own happiness or that of your family? Will you still marry a girl your age if she were of a different race and your family opposed it? What if she came from a poor family? Or did not have the education your family wanted?

While it is awesome to make your family happy, in the end, it is all about you and your partner. The parents who typically oppose marriages like this one die some day but end up causing a lot of pain to their children. That is why, as much as I love my family, I do not let them dictate my major life choices. Yeah, I will still occasionally wear that awful sweater that my mother might gave me as a gift but I would not like her to tell me who to marry.

So give it some thought and if you are still convinced that this is the woman for you, go ahead and do it. Most likely your parents will respect your choices.

Regarding having kids with her, the possibility is small. A woman's fertility drops precipitously after 40 but using donor eggs she may get pregnant. Many do get pregnant naturally as well but the probability is low.