If your parents meet their parents
There is a confidentiality obligation on who it is, but there is a specimen hopping around in the editorial office whose red spots still shoot up her neck when she thinks of the meeting with her in-laws. Pure panic and hyperventilating scenes it was. I am a privileged person, because if you fall in love with your best friend, then you are already on a first-name basis with your in-laws before you start making out. Hmm, those two words feel a bit awkward in one sentence. But when hers went to see his in real life, it was really a thick, fat crisis for the person in question.
My lovely dad, mom, and step-parents (yes, you have those in a modern society) have all almost met each other. But my mother and his father, that is still in the works. For eight and a half years. And if you let something sit for eight and a half years, it doesn't get any fresher. Everything is a bit off, because believe me: it is really not intentional. I always think: when there is a wedding, those little get-togethers will come. Actually, I mostly think not, because then I would have accidentally invited them to a synchronized coffee gathering at least once. For your image; I have been living under the same roof with my boyfriend for five years. Apparently, it is still a bit dubious, because I just saw some eyebrows raise when I chanted that in the editorial office. And when I think about it, my circle of acquaintances is quite representative of mixed parents at parties and gatherings. We are not. Oh my dear, am I doing something wrong?
Actually, it comes from me thinking that everyone has known each other for Christmas and birthdays for a long time. I really have to dig into my brain to figure out which mother has or hasn't greeted which father in person. Did I miss an etiquette on the in-law front and intensely neglect it because I didn't organize a 'his and mine' evening? That is something from the fifties, which you don't think about for a minute anymore and falls under the category of it happens or it doesn't happen. But I do want to list some underlying stones in this writing, so I have dug into online forums. It's quite a treat, the guilty pleasure times a trillion, if you're looking for something to laugh about on a rainy Sunday afternoon. That's where you need to be. Opinions are somewhat divided in cyberspace. You have the situations where grandpas and grandmas (because that's what you are when your child has a child) only started shaking hands after the birth of grand-grape number one. But you also have the tea party horrors. Oh, did I say that out loud? In any case, those staged introduction rituals exist and take place. If you weren't warned yet, you are now. You're welcome.
After those tea party-like situations, I have a safe alternative for you. If you're not waiting for it: don't do it. Don't stage a nerve-wracking evening after five months of relationship on the clock. But if he or you has gone down on one knee or the first little one is on the way, then it's still nice if you've already shaken hands before rings are exchanged or before a baby is plopped into arms. Just to keep the peace.
Photo: Morris Family
