I met my partner when I was 26 and he was 40. I had previously only dated guys my age or younger. I had a 7 year old son at the time and was being very careful about who I let into my life. We had and have more things to talk about than any other guy I have ever dated. We now have a 3 year old wonder child and a university student on the Dean’s list (not to mention a straight doper). He does seem to tire long before the 3 year old and me most of the time but life is still good. Go with what seems right. It feels strange to be involved with someone who knows what they want and who they are. Women are stimulated by men who are “exciting”. Men who are mature and know who and where they are, are often seen as boring. Give it a chance, it may be exactly what you are looking for even if it doesn’t feel exactly right.
Well, my mother is about 12 or 13 years younger than my father, and they’ve been together for around 35 years now.
I think if y’all get along and have a compatible sense of humor (the rarest thing to find – I never realized how important this was to me until recently), the last thing you should be worried about is the age difference. If he were too stodgy, or you were too young, you would’ve found that out pretty quickly, I think. It’s possible that the two of you have completely different taste in movies/music/whatever, but your thoughts don’t always have to be in lock-step. As others have recommended – go out on more dates, have fun, get to know each other. It’s likely that with your maturity and his immaturity, you meet somewhere in the mid-thirties.
And although it’s technically good advice to say “don’t overthink it, it’s only been one date,” that’s perfectly understandable. It’s natural to want to think everything out to its conclusion and get into the “what will happen when we do this” and “what if we get married” and all that, even before the first date is over. So you can’t just say “don’t think about that yet,” the trick is to let yourself think about it but don’t let it control everything you do. Relax and have fun, and see where it takes you.
Excellent advice, Sol. Thanks for articulating and understanding the over-thinking thing.
He called tonight and we made plans for this Saturday, I’m really looking forward to it. The more we talk the more I forget about the age thing, I actually gave him a little shit about it over the phone today, all in good fun of course. 
I say almost adult for myself, as I am about fifteen credits and a semester away from graduating from college. For me, that will be when I feel like I am an adult, so I can support myself and live on my own.
Excellent.
When my wife and I met, I was 34 and she was 23. Sixteen years later, we’re doing just fine.
You said you figured him for early 30s at most. I know exactly what you mean - when I was a college instructor in my early 30s, a lot of the support staff figured I was a student at first. Now I’m 50, and I look and feel more like 38 or 39. If he feels young in addition to looking young, chances are it won’t be a big deal for him to be 65 when you’re 51, because he’ll look and feel like he’s in his mid-50s.
I’m reviving this thread to ask Lezlers how things worked out. My wife is 23 and I’m 43 and we have have a great life together. I hope she is experiencing the same.