Meet the parents!

I didn't anticipate that this day would ever be upon me. I had been dating George for a solid year. (Round of applause please.) We got on very well, had lots of friends in common and were happily in love, or maybe something a bit like that.

One weekend it turned out that both of our families would be in town at the same time. This was highly unusual, so it seemed natural that we come together for a lovely, relaxed lunch as our lives continued to come together.

George had been a bit resistant to having a family lunch together. I had met his family many times before but he hadn't spent much time with my folks and everyone seemed excited to have a meal together. Everyone, except George, that is. I figured he would soon get over it and be ok. My family are a nice bunch and not that different to me, naturally, and he knew me pretty well so I was positively confident that all would be well.

Once the date and time had been locked in for the big day we set on finding the perfect venue for our first family lunch together - I hoped this would be the first of many family lunches together. A beach side restaurant was booked and  I was really looking forward to introducing my clan to his!

Soon the big day arrived and it was a glorious summer day. YES! It was a perfect day! There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the ocean was sparkling. I was so sure everything else would continue to be  just as perfect.

On entering the restaurant  George was also sparkling but sparkling with sweat! I have never seen anyone in such a state. Should I call an ambulance? It seemed that George was convinced that he was about to face the firing squad or something equally as awful. Maybe he was? My family aren't THAT bad!....are they?...

After all the polite introductions were over and some generous gift giving took place, we settled down to eat a delicious meal in really lovely company. Indeed, lunch seemed to go well - really well. Both Mum's happily enjoyed shared the obligatory childhood embarrassing stories - although I will point out that the ones my mother recalls of me are in fact actually my brother.... probably. There was a lot of laughter and free flowing conversation. Everyone was involved, aside from my quivering wreck of a boyfriend who had become mute.

He was mute!

My usually chatty, engaging, funny and charismatic darling was anything but! In fact George was so different I felt I didn't even know who he was. It was very bizarre. I kept asking him if he was okay and feeding him water to calm him down but he batted me off defensively.  

Meeting the parents can be daunting but it really didn't seem that bad all... George had been very supportive and encouraging when I had first met his family and so I tried hard to be the same to help him, but there didn't seem to be anything I could do or say to get him to participate in the conversation. I started to become angry when I noticed that George, who had strategically placed himself at the very end of the table had turned his back on my mother and was actually very engaged with his phone! What is he playing at?

I looked across at my mother, who is the most gorgeous human being imaginable, kind of like a cross between the perfect Grandma and best friend that anyone could want. My mother was delighted that I had finally met George and that things were going so well between us. As it turns out Mum was thrilled to be with George and his family because God had finally answered her prayers in providing me with a wonderful man, that she hoped would become my husband. I am quite sure she had actually been praying for my "husband" since before I was conceived (seriously). I wondered what was it about my sweet, kind mother that could cause such terror to anyone, especially George, whom by default she simply loved!

George was a mess.

Our delightful lunch was torture for George and it was very obvious to everyone that he had completely withdrawn from the whole event. George seemed unaware of himself and the impact of his odd behaviour. He could barely look up from his plate of food or mobile. Engaging in conversation was clearly beyond his capacity. I was very shocked to have seen this side of my boyfriend because it was behaviour that I have never before experienced from him. A few nerves are understandable but I was quite perplexed as to why George was struggling so much.

After lunch was over our families departed in our respective different directions. This seemed symbolic and in hindsight it was certainly reflective of the beginning of the end for George and I. Even though the poor guy has been a nervous wreck, which is understandable, he had also been incredibly rude to everyone at lunch. 

George had displayed a new side of his personality to me and his total withdrawal was highly uncharacteristic of him. I felt that George didn't put in the effort to get to know my family which made me feel that  perhaps inadvertently he didn't want to get to know me any deeper. Maybe after such a traumatic experience for the poor guy that is accurate? Regardless, George wasn't ready to engage with my family which left me disappointed because surely a year is sufficient time to finally meet the family. 

In some ways it would have been a more tolerable experience for everyone if the lunch had taken place without George!  In fact our respective families ended up getting on better with each other than George and I ever did.

* name changed to protect his regal heritage.