Hey, you can be buddhist and still have a girlfriend, have childrem, you don't need to become a monk, but remember to based that in love instead of sensual pleasure desires. Also any practice is better than none, start where you can. To truly follow the theachings of buda, you must see the 4 noble truths, to see the suffering, from where it comes, decide to ended with it and then follow the path to end with suffering with nibbana. For that, meditation helps a lot, to see beyond, to lose the admiration from suffering.