About Rebecca Eckler
Since becoming pregnant with her daughter Rowan, Canadian journalist and author Rebecca Eckler has penned three hilarious books, including the best-selling Knocked Up. Catch Rebecca’s weekly unique perspective on motherhood and single parenthood.
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(Jan.07.10)
My boyfriend would like to meet my parents. My parents would like to meet my boyfriend. The only thing keeping this introduction from happening is yours truly.
See, it’s different being an adult introducing your boyfriend to your parents.
I remember introducing high school boyfriends to my parents. I don’t really remember caring if they liked my boyfriends or not. At one point, I do remember my father saying to me, “I don’t want to meet any more boyfriends until he’s the one you’re going to marry.”
The thing is, when you’re young, parents (on some level) must know that when you’re introducing your boyfriends, that the relationship is almost definitely not going to last. All they probably care about, when you’re young, is that the guy gets you home by curfew, that you’re not having unprotected sex, and not drinking and driving.
But now that I’m an adult, I’m pretty sure my parents know I have sex (Duh, I have a six-year-old as proof!), that they can’t put a curfew on me, since I live on my own, and that I’m not stupid enough to drink and drive.
Now that I’m a grown up (physically at least) I know my parents just want me to be happy. They really, really want me to not just have a boyfriend, but also be in a serious relationship, one that could lead to marriage and possibly another grandchild.
I know this because, about a year and a half after The Ex and I split up, I introduced them to a man I had been seeing for a couple of months. My mother actually whispered to me, “Maybe you’ll have another baby!”
In any case, that relationship ended shortly after I made the introduction and though I was disappointed, I think my parents were even more disappointed. I feel not so much that I failed at that relationship (I’m wise enough to know now that sometimes relationships just don’t work out), but that I failed my parents.
For some reason, I actually care more now about what they think of my boyfriends than I did when I was younger.
I’m also superstitious. I don’t like sitting on an airplane in aisle thirteen. I stay away from black cats. I will never walk under a ladder.
Since that relationship ended shortly after I introduced the guy to my parents, I thought, “God is telling me something!”
I heart my boyfriend. I don’t want to let my parents down, if this relationship doesn’t end up working out, especially if they get their hopes up. The introduction, I know, will have to take place. But it’s not going to take place on the 13th of any month, that’s for sure.
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