Hi!
I have been with my boyfriend for a little under two years (our anniversary is in April), and while I understand that it's not that long, we are in our mid-30s (I'm 36, turning 37 this year, and he is going to turn 38 in the summer) and definitely want to have kids. I have expressed to him that I want to get married before having kids, and says he wants the same.
We have had endless conversations about getting married and starting a family, and we are both excited about it. The problem is... the proposal doesn't come. I have tried to bring up the topic of actually starting to prepare for a wedding, since I'm really concerned about my age and my desire to become a mom. If he doesn't want to propose, I can skip that (although I would love a fairy tale proposal), but I don't want to sit and wait forever. He told me that he does want to do it right and propose to me, but that he's just not there yet.
I totally understand that we have not been together that many years, but we are pretty much already acting like a married couple - we have been living together for over a year, we have recently bought a house together, we are spending holidays together with both of our families... And we are also financially secure, so that's not the issue. I don't understand why he is not ready.
It kind of worries me because I have expressed from the very beginning that marriage and commitment is important to me and that I had issues with past partners not wanting to fully commit to me. He said that it was important to him as well and that he values marriage very much, so that's why he never proposed to his ex-gf although they were together for a few years. He says I'm different and that he sees himself marrying me, but I worry that he is going make me wait for years, and I'm not getting any younger.
I love him more that I have loved anyone and I'm willing to wait until he is ready, but my desire to become a mother is strong and I know I won't have that with him until we are married. I want him to be the father of my child, but I worry that that child will never come.
What can I do? How can I make him see how big of a deal this is for me? I don't want to pressure him into proposing to me, but it hurts so much.
