| Dear Carolyn: I turned 40 last year. Without exactly meaning to, I did so without first securing a husband and having children as I’d hoped to. I am 80 percent okay about it. I like my life and am still open to dating and connection but assume the ship has probably sailed on that traditional progression of events. I thought that milestone birthday would take some of the external pressure off, but my mom’s new thing is to call me and ask whether I’ve heard of this fertility technology or that person who naturally had two babies in her 40s. I get that she is hopeful. I’m an only child, and she would really like to be a grandmother. But the pressure it makes me feel is so intense. Part of me thinks I SHOULD be exhausting every possible avenue to try to have a baby, but I try to keep that part quiet because it’s not terribly practical. Every time she brings it up, that part gets loud again. How do I stop the pressure? Realistically, I cannot stop her from asking. — Stop the Pressure! | 
