Q: My girlfriend is the coolest. I love the hell out of her. Her family however, I believe may be trying to revive the third Reich. Her Mom is mean, rude and crude. Her sister is an obnoxious and petty girl that is constantly interfering with our lives. We have to go to her house every Sunday for dinner and I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth it to think about a long term relationship if this is what she comes along with. What should I do?
Annoying Baggage- Cleveland
Zach’s Wisdom and Advice:
Stop whining. I love pizza, but I can’t stand the crust so I usually will just eat around it and then throw it in the trash without remorse. When people who have the pleasure of dining with me ask why, I tend to give them a diatribe about how I personally find that one segment to be bland, boring, and distasteful.
A lot of people’s families maintain the exact same characteristics only you can’t just take them to the nearest dumpster (I’ve tried, but they wouldn’t leave the car). The fact of the matter is that the girl you love has a family you dislike. Well, that’s why you are not dating her mom and that is why you are not sleeping with her sister. It’s great when your significant other’s family is comprised of wonderful souls that you get along with perfectly, but not always realistic and by no means anything that needs to be present to carry on a great relationship. At day’s end even if you dislike her family you still love her and she is the one you chose to be with so you have to grin, bear it and put on a smile anytime they are around. A bit of crust just has to be dealt with to enjoy the rest of the pizza and once you leave the crust behind you don’t have to see it again until the next time.
A love “guru” would tell you to speak openly about it with your GF, DONT! It’s her family, she loves them and WILL feel insulted. Instead maybe have a glass of wine before you go to their house on Sundays and… its ok to internally make fun of them; however I would not advise on trying to drown them in ranch dressing, pepper flakes or parmesan cheese, it never ends well.
