Meeting your Partner’s Parents is a daunting experience for anyone. This in every way passes as the Litmus test on whether or not your man is willing to take you as his wife. I digress but let me add some veteran advice to our lady friends; when he asks to see your parents, start packing, make good your bye byes, prepare your single friends; for you are soon about to get married.
For a man, this step means he has thought things through and is willing to commit to you until death and this process begins with the big question “Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life. Say Yes, Say Yes Cause I need to know”
He has made preparations, probably ambushed you with a million questions about what to expect from your Mom and Dad (his future in laws), and probed his confidants on how best to dress, what language to use, where he should sit all with the intent to make a good impression. It is a big deal for us too to evoke the parental blessing over the union and the elderly counsel and advice from future in-laws.
If his Father is available, (as per the African tradition), the father will, of course, want to have a one on one with the Father of the daughter. On the other side, the father of the bride to be, may request that his future son in law take a walk with him, as his daughter and her mother prepare dinner. During the walk, the elderly man will pass ounces and nuggets of wisdom to the future son in law, challenges he has faced in marriage, how best to treat women, what he expects from his son in law etc.
Then when it comes to the mother, she will tease them all through the night posing questions such as: how did you meet, when did you know she was the one – questions which most men would wish to avoid especially when discussing them with future in-laws. Deep inside, your partner is thinking ‘… surely your daughter can tell you this once I am gone.’
Anyway, all in all, meeting our girlfriend’s parents is huge for us because it is a clear expression of our intent to progress the relationship to eternal union; we don’t take this lightly. So, until we meet again. Welcome to a man’s world. From Mitchell Odhiambo To get a female perspective on this, please click link to view my colleague Lucy’s view on this topic – http://goo.gl/Q7JbJy
