Valentine's day

What drives a person to become a parent? Recently a good friend of mine was having a conversation with her boyfriend of four years. Basically on Valentine's Day her biological clock went flying off the handle and caused her to rant and rave all night about how she cannot wait for them to get married and start a family. His reaction was, in my own opinion, priceless. He had spent all day cooking a meal for her, bought her flowers, lit candles, madethe evening very romantic. But his face which was once full of love quickly turned into that of a horror film victim when she uttered the words, "How many children do you want?" I was upstairs at the time but I swear I heard his jaw drop from all the way downstairs. He then made a quick exit while trying to explain to her that he planned on finishing school and starting a life before starting a family. As I tried to console my idiot of a friend, I wondered why do girls put themselves in situations like these? I can understand the need to have family and get married, but at nineteen shouldn't we be worried about other things? I asked my friend why she did such a dumb thing, she simply said through the sobbing that she was nineteen and wanted to be married at twentytwo and have her first child by twentyfour. I stared in disbelief, how could a woman so smart with such a bright future only think of herself as capable of being a wife and mother? Look I'm all for family, go ahead knock out a few kids, get married young, to each his own, right. But for me there is more to life than soccer practices and girlscout meetings. getting married is not on the top of my to-do list. Now don't get me wrong I love children, clearly I work with them everyday, but the days of Mrs. Cleaver and bridge games have long passed. I expect more from myself than just becoming a wife and mother. I want to build a life not be trapped into one. Maybe someday I will get married and start a family but for right now I'm content to go to coollege hangout with my friends, work and just grow up. I hope that there are other young women who feel as I do and less who feel like my friend. In my opinion there is only disappointment and regret waiting for the young women who think themselves capable of only soccer games, and PTA meetings.