Benjamin Franklin said the same thing. He said "they're grateful."
I many case older women have shed the high school girl crud.
I didn't date much in high school because of the stupid high school games and when I joined the Air Force at 18 years old I refused to date the locals because they still had that attitude. I also refused to date a civilian girl even a year younger than me because she would still be in high school while I was on ICBM launch crew fighting the Cold War. Two different levels with no understanding in between.
I actually went for girls that were a bit older than me and the ones that I was really attracted to were also in the Air Force and understood the commitment.
Sounds like you made good choices!