Dear Prudence,
I graduated from college two years ago and settled into a job that I like. I am not making tons of money but I am paying off my student loans while having an incredible life with my girlfriend. She is funny, smart, and the light of my life, as corny as that sounds. We have been together four years and I am so very happy right now. But the future is scaring me. My girlfriend is eight years older than me and will be finishing her Ph.D. this year. Many of her friends are married with kids or focusing on careers in far-off corners of the world. She has been anxious lately and talking more seriously about kids. I know her three older sisters have had fertility troubles so this is probably going to be do-or-die time. I love her, I can picture us getting married, picture her as the mother of my kids, but just not right now. My sister called me a coward when I told her this and told me to either commit to my girlfriend and propose or quit and let her find someone else. I am terrified of losing my girlfriend. I can’t imagine my life without her but I can’t see myself changing diapers a year from now. What should I do?