Meet the Parents

Grammy and Bumpa are making the 14 hour trek from Massachusetts to Charlotte today. They are on their way to a nice vacation in Hilton Head, SC. In order to prepare for their arrival, DH and I had a much longer chore list than we usually do. After all, we have to look like responsible home owners when they come to visit, don't we?

So the hedges were clipped, the driveway cleaned (damn those squirrels and their nut dropping!), furniture was dusted, floors were swept and mopped and everything was put in its place. It's kind of nice when we are expecting company because we care that much more about cleaning than when it's just us and the dog.

The parents' imminent arrival reminds me of the first time I brought DH to meet them. I was bringing him with me to my sister's wedding at the end of December (2002) so I figured I should break him in first. Approaching my family can be a lot like gentling a wild animal. It takes a lot of up front planning, no sudden movement and treats. Lots of treats.

To start with, I told DH lots of stories about my family. Mostly funny ones so he wouldn't realize how crazy we really are. I then trapped him in my car and drove the 15 miles to my parents' house. Waiting for us when we arrived were lots of treats: beer for him, wine for me, appetizers and a home cooked meal.

I wasn't surprised that he hit it off with my parents. I come from a pretty matriarchal family as does he. So he totally knew that buttering up the mom was the way to go. Somehow at the end of the night she talked him into having some homemade lemoncello with her. This was after several beers so it totally put DH over the edge. Good thing I had planned on driving us back already. Many of my readers have had Grammy push lemoncello on them. But everyone else probably knows it best from Danny Devito's stellar performance on The View about a year ago. Apparently he got so drunk on lemoncello he was still drunk the next day and sat on Barbara Walter's lap. So needless to say, it has a kick to it.

Once he finished the glass (!) my mom poured for him, he was in. The rest of the process leading up to our wedding years later was just a formality.

My parents don't look that crazy, do they?