Families

Today was a rather interesting day. My cousin came down from New Hampshire so we ended up having a family picnic. It was a lot of fun, having everyone gathered in one place. My sister's boyfriend even brought his parents over so they could meet everyone. This was the first time anyone in our family had met them (besides my sister, obviously). They were very nice, even brought my mom flowers, and didn't mind my crazy family at all. However, at some point in time during the night, I realized something-

My sister and her boyfriend have been together for about a year and now their families have met each other. My ex and I dated for over two years and our families NEVER met. (Though, once again, I point out the fact that I never met any of his friends, so our families meeting is kind of laughable). And it made me realize that we just weren't meant to be. When you are that in love with someone that you are considering spending the rest of your lives together, it only seems natural to introduce your parents to one another. Apparently my ex and I didn't have that kind of connection. It makes me sad to realize this, especially because, when you're in a relationship with someone that you love, you have every intention of wanting it to work out, right? No one really goes into a relationship thinking, "Wow. I hope I only have to date this person for a couple of months," or "I guess I will be with this person until someone better comes along". (At least, most people don't think that- I'm not so naive that I actually believe everyone has true-hearted intentions all the time. )

As for my ex and I never "meshing" our families, I can 't say the blame is all on him (though I'm pretty sure I did suggest a couple of times that his family come out to dinner with mine, but I could be wrong). I don't know, it just struck me as odd, seeing them all conversing and laughing. And I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to relationships, I am apparently leagues behind everyone else.