[SouthernBelle.]

One must consider the example of Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder. There were ten years between the two of them (she being sixteen and him twenty-six), and theirs was a good match. As I think I said in another thread, I have older relatives who had as many years between the husband and wife, and their marriages are some of the most loving that I know of.

Some of you might say it's old-fashioned to marry someone that much older than you are, and that those marriages worked out because that was the standard in those days; but I disagree. I think it's best for either both parties to be over twenty years of age, extraordinarily mature, or for the man to be at least five years older than the girl. My reason is that men usually mature much more slowly than women, and being older than their wives, it puts them on the same ground. It also makes them more apt to consider their girlfriends seriously, and marry them, rather than having sex with them and deciding they want whoever else comes scampering along directly after.

I don't only agree with larger age gaps; I advocate them. Take that as you will.