Quiet pre-Thanksgiving day

I got done what I needed to get done today. Yay! Of course there’s some other stuff and I’ll have to do it over the weekend, but the task today was one I had been putting off for ages.

Yesterday I finally had a chance to tell my mom about my getting into grad school. The first thing she said?

“Where is it?”

Then, “How far is it?”

Then, “Are classes at night?”

Finally: “Oh.”

*Sigh.*

I got totally annoyed and called her out on not even saying congratulations. Then she said, “Oh yeah, of course that’s good news,” but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it.

Then she said, “I was hoping for better news.”

“Like what?” I asked. “A promotion?”

No. If I was dating anyone or not.

Double sigh.

I haven’t told my parents about MB as it’s been just a couple of months, and last time I made the mistake of talking too much about H. too soon, only to have it all blow up in my face, and then have to deal with my mother’s worried inquiries.

I know my dating status shouldn’t make a difference to my mother. Isn’t it enough that I’m happy and excited about going into a new career? But I also knew it would be very easy to make her less worried so I went ahead and told her a little bit about MB, just that we’ve been dating for a couple of months, his profession, and his height.

Yes, his height.

My mother can be that shallow, and yes, I totally enabled her shallowness.

That’s when she got most excited, learning of MB’s 6 foot plus stature.

I did also say, “You can never ask about him again,” of course unless I bring him up first, and she surprisingly agreed, though who knows if she’ll stick by her promise.

Last night ES was in the city so we hung out. But in the afternoon I had to go home to get the charger for my piece-of-crap phone (just got a new one, need to have it set up), and who do I see but ES on the street.

True, she’s staying with her cousin who’s practically my neighbor, but still! It was two o’clock in the afternoon, totally random. I was more surprised than she was.

Going to the ‘rents’ tomorrow morning to avoid the craziness of traveling today. Hoping to hit the gym this afternoon (first time all week!), then go home to pack. Then hanging out with MB tonight. :)

7 comments

  1. Happy Thanksgiving to you! I keep ALL details about my dating life away from my family, to avoid the judgment/advice that would surely follow. They think I’ve never gone out with anyone! They’ll be lucky if I tell them when I’m married LOL.

    Congrats about school! At least your mom didn’t ask how tall the buildings on campus were :-)

  2. Congratulations on getting into the school of your choice! I’m looking forward to your posts as you’re doing a different degree than any other blogger I’ve ever followed.

    Yeah – going back to school and career changes kind of set the parents off with worry even if we are really capable of taking care of ourselves, while finding a guy “to protect you” soothes their worries.

    I also go the rapid-fire questions about the guy: How old? His parents’ and siblings’ education and occupation? His education, occupation, and salary? And his height, of course. They gotta have something to be proud of and if you’re short like I am, a guy who is comparably short doesn’t inspire their confidence that he’s much of a man…. :S

  3. your mom and my mom are studying from the same course on “how to take the wind out of your kid’s sails”. lol

    i suspect you and i are pretty close in age, so our mothers are expecting the same things … le sigh!

  4. Happy Thanksgiving! Mom’s are definitely weird when it comes to dating lives. I think it’s our age, like they are worried we will end up spinsters or something. Mine keeps going back and forth between asking about my boy or pretending he doesn’t exist and telling me about all these “sons or nephews of friends”. Ugh.

  5. I totally hear you on the shallow parent thing.

    Years ago J gave me a ring. It was a simply white gold ring with a perpendicular smaller yellow gold band. Really simple, and I loved it.

    I wore it on my ring finger because that’s where it fit. My mom asked if it was an engagement ring. I said no. She said, good… because it better be a rock.

    I was so pissed and had no idea she was that shallow. It didn’t matter to me, so why should it matter to her?

    Hope you have a great weekend.

  6. happy Thanksgiving.

    Bizarre how your mom is infatuated with height.

  7. When my sister told my mom she was going out with an Indian guy, she said, “Ahhhh!” (which is Chinese for “Ugh!”)

    I’m glad it’s going well so far. New guy, new career, yay!