Getting into a new relationship means getting to know someone on a deeper level, and there are certain milestones each couple takes. First hug, first kiss, first burp in front of each other and the scariest of all; meeting the family.
I have a cousin who has brought boyfriends home after dating for two months. When my family meets them, they can usually tell that they won’t last (which ends up being true). Having my family believing in my relationship, for some reason, meant a lot to me.
Now, if you’re family is anything like mine, then they’re crazy. Sometimes that means they have strange parties, like a Disney themed party that was for my youngest cousin which meant my friends and I had to dress up.
My mom thought I should ask my boyfriend to come over. Now, he had previously come to my house, but only to pick me up. This was the first time he was going to actually spend time with most of my family.
My boyfriend and I were supposed to go as matching Disney characters, but since we waited for so long, our costumes weren’t that great. I was able to pull off a Queen of Hearts, but my boyfriend as the Mad Hatter was questionable.
When I first brought him in, everyone was still setting up, so it was just more of a, ‘Hi. Who are you? Bye’ sort of meet. Which wasn’t as bad as I thought. No interrogation, nice!
At first, it was kind of awkward. My friends, cousins, boyfriend and I sat in my room and I tried to spark up a conversation, but it’s a bit hard to be PG-13 with some of my friends. I’ll admit, I’m guilty of it too, but I needed to show that my boyfriend was not the influence for that.
When we were all dragged out into the main part of the party, I had to formally introduce my Mad Hatter dressed boyfriend to my family. Maybe not the best time to finally have him meet them, but it was something.
At first, it was awkward while we sat with everyone that’s close to me. Then, someone suggested a game and everyone was having a great time playing when my youngest cousin decided to join in.
She was the birthday girl, and was really shy around my boyfriend at first. But I could see that he was really trying to include her in the game and soon he was helping her win the whole thing!
They had become so close, that at the end of the day, my little cousin was asking him to help build her new Lego set. Everyone thought that was such a cute moment.
My family usually plays music at parties, and this one was no exception. I can never resist a good time to dance. My family is good at getting people to dance to “Payaso de Rodeo,” it’s almost become a tradition.
While in the middle of dancing, I could see my boyfriend laughing with my aunt and uncle. They both were most likely talking about my embarrassing moments while I was dancing and nearly falling to this song.
I’m probably not alone on this, but I was over-thinking this whole interaction. I wanted them to like my boyfriend and vice versa. Yet maybe bringing him home was less about their opinion, but more me making a statement, because in reality I knew that I already picked the one. With or without approval.
I can honestly say I was lucky in my situation. But, if you find your parents don’t approve of your lover, you shouldn’t sweat it. At the end of the day, it’s you who decides to control your love life.
