Meet The Parents

[Rayne]

No, this isn't about the movie...It's about real life :)

The other night Seri brought her boyfriend over for the first time...Dustin was at work so he didn't meet him, but he will soon...That made me think of something...

We all have to go through the 'meet the parents' ritual at some point in our lives, and later we are in the 'parent' seat...Well...This will be the second time that I am in the 'parent' seat, but the first time I was with Seri when she met Shane, so it wasn't the way it normally goes...This one was for real...AND...Dustin is now in the 'parent' seat at only 24 years-old (he was just in the 'meet the parents' seat 4 years ago), so I wondered if that might seem a little odd to him (especially considering the fact that Seri's boyfriend is older than him), and I was really curious about what that might be like...Anyway...

I have had to 'meet the parents' only 4 times in my life...It went fairly well, however the mothers didn't really care for me much in the second and third scenarios (one to my face, one behind my back...Both for the same reasons)...Moms sometimes feel like you're taking their baby away from them...It's weird to me, but it does happen.

It seems that this ritual is often more difficult for males, as the fathers seem to be very protective of their girls and I think sometimes the boyfriends are intimidated, nervous, or trying hard to make a good impression.

So...I'm still curious, and as usual I'm bringing this to you guys.

How many times have you had to 'meet the parents'?...How did it go?...Anything embarassing, funny, or otherwise memorable happen?...How did you feel before (knowing you were about to meet them for the first time), during, and after?...How long were you in the relationship before you felt like it was serious enough to get to the 'meet the parents' stage?

How many times have you been in the 'parent' seat?...How did THAT go?...Did it make you remember when you were on the other side of the ritual?...For those of you who are too young to have ever been in the 'parent' seat, how do you think it will go when the time comes?...How will you react to the new mate for your child the first time you meet them?

Seri has been working with this guy (they are both supervisors in the same department) for about a year and a half...They have been flirting with each other for almost a year...They finally admitted they were crazy about each other a month ago, and they have been spending all of their free time together ever since.

[scouse mac]

Ive been lucky, never really had any problems when meeting the girlfriends folks.

With my first two serious girlfriends we were friends before we hooked up so I already knew their parents and always got on well enough. The third serious relationship, where meeting the parents was a big deal, wasnt brilliant mainly due to the mother who is a controlling bitch. I got on ok with her but had to bite my lip on many occassions when she started spouting off on some bullshit tirade.

When I first met my wifes parents it was quite low-key and uneventful, we get on really well so no problem there.

I think its no coincidence that Ive never had any prob with the fathers due, I think, to the fact that the families were very high in female numbers. With the exception of one, all the families were made up of daughters and I think the dads enjoyed having another bloke around the house for a change.

Should I be fortunate enough to have a daughter at some point, I know I wont be very tolerant of any spotty little toad sniffing around her! It will probably be a case of 'Get thee to a nunnery!' and all that.

[missmacabre]

I met Derek's Dad the first night I went over to Derek's house. He walked in and introductions were had. I stood up to shake his hand and he says "God she's short". I have to say I expected it. I'm 5'3" and derek and his Dad are about 6'3". Then he walked around the house singing Short People by Randy Newman. I didn't know it was a song at the time so I was scared to death of him (still am).

As for meeting his Mom, everything went smoothly. That whole Freudian thing where you try to marry someone like your mom/dad is very true in this case. His Mom and I have a similar personality, same exact sense of humour. We drove for 4 hours just the two of us and had a blast. My tiny bladder, and a 4 hour drive whilst laughing the whole way was difficult though.

Sometimes I still feel a little intimidated by her though. Mostly because we both care so much for Derek, and I will instinctively get him a cold cloth for his head when he has a fever, or make him a hot meal after he works all day... things like that. Then she will ask him if he needs anything and it's already done most of the time. I don't really know what to do about that.