Meet the Family
Meeting family is both an exciting and nerve wracking time. This Thanksgiving I spent roaming the Midwest with my girlfriend meeting all her family, everyone including her sister, aunts, uncles, grandma, cousins, great aunts, and even the nieces.
It was exciting in that there were so many new people to meet, and being as I’m a fairly people oriented person, it was a lot of fun meeting them. They are all very eager to meet me, I can only assume some fairly exaggerated stories were told in order to pave the way for my entrance ;-) We stayed at 3 different family member’s homes and I was shocked at how welcoming and accommodating everyone was. Each of them went above and beyond.
It is also exciting because you are able to learn so much more about the person you are dating, the environment they grew up in, customs they are accostumed to, and they people they learned from. It is an angle you can't get by simply spending time with that person individually.
Still, despite being treated so well, meeting family can be a little stressful. I never try to be someone I’m not, but to some extent it can feel like there are expectations to be met. Other than the “just be yourself” advice, is there anything else that can ease the stresses of meeting family? Overall, I think I handled it well, but it would be interesting to hear what the rest of you think.
It was exciting in that there were so many new people to meet, and being as I’m a fairly people oriented person, it was a lot of fun meeting them. They are all very eager to meet me, I can only assume some fairly exaggerated stories were told in order to pave the way for my entrance ;-) We stayed at 3 different family member’s homes and I was shocked at how welcoming and accommodating everyone was. Each of them went above and beyond.
It is also exciting because you are able to learn so much more about the person you are dating, the environment they grew up in, customs they are accostumed to, and they people they learned from. It is an angle you can't get by simply spending time with that person individually.
Still, despite being treated so well, meeting family can be a little stressful. I never try to be someone I’m not, but to some extent it can feel like there are expectations to be met. Other than the “just be yourself” advice, is there anything else that can ease the stresses of meeting family? Overall, I think I handled it well, but it would be interesting to hear what the rest of you think.
posted by david at Tuesday, November 29, 2005
2 Comments:
When I saw the title of your post, I immediately thought of the movie "Meet the Parents." It at least sounds like your experience was better than that! I never really had a chance to be stressed about meeting families--I only ever had to meet Dan's. And they're pretty easy! I'm sure they adore you. :)
I didn't mean to leave you with the impression that it was uber stressful, just that may feel like there is some level of anticipation and expectation to be lived up to. Like I said, I did have a really great time meeting them and they were very easy going people.
Post a Comment
<< Home