There are plenty of milestones in a relationship, but none are more nerve-wracking that meeting your boyfriend's mother. After dating for about seven months, I finally met Antonio's mother over lunch on Sunday. I was so nervous, even though I usually do well with middle-aged women. Antonio and his mother are very close, so I guess there was little fear that she wouldn't like me and that would cause problems between us. I am polite, respectful and sweet. I know that I would be the kind of guy that a parent would want to be dating their son.
We went to her house in Newark, New Jersey for lunch. We walked in and she instantly gave me a big hug and said that her house was my house. She doesn't speak much English, having come to this country from Portugal in the 1980s and spent most of her time in the Portuguese neighborhood of Newark's Ironbound neighborhood. She instantly put me at ease.
My stepmother's family is Polish and the meal is an important aspect of the culture. I know that they like it when you eat and it's a bit of an insult to refuse to eat something. Luckily, all the food that Antonio's mom made was delicious. We had shrimp as an appetizer and then had pork, veggies, rice and salad. The bowls were full of food - way more than three people could eat. But I figured that since our conversation would be limited that I'd make up for it by eating...everything. And I did! We did talk a little, though Antonio had to do some translating. She really is one of the sweetest women I've ever met. She and Antonio have such a loving relationship.
After lunch we had dessert! A Trader Joe's cake, chocolates and fruit...lots of fruit. Again, I wanted to keep up appearance so I ate. The couple of hours that we were there really flew by. All my nerves were completely unwarranted because the day could not have gone better. I think it's a good sign that this step forward in our relationship went so smoothly.
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