As a girl primarily raised by my mother, I was always naturally apprehensive when she warmly welcomed a new man into her life. Although there weren’t many, they just never seemed to fit in. Let’s just say I was never really excited to their coming over (sorry, mom). My mom is the sweetest, most derpy woman I know. She deserves the best, and anyone who can’t treat her like a queen isn’t worthy.
Here’s the low down: the summer after my senior year, I went to Europe with my best friend for a little longer than a week. I came home to my mom telling me she had a boyfriend. I left for 10 days and the woman replaced me. Truth be told, I knew this man before I left but only as the mildly frequent dinner guest who always did the dishes. With her dating past not having had the best track record, I can’t say I was amped for her to have a new boyfriend.
It’s been nearly two years since she introduced him to us and I can honestly say our lives would not be the same without him. Not just my moms, but also my sister’s and mine. He’s the type of person who can get along with anyone. He listens to the stories of your day and your thoughts and actually remembers what you say. When I was rushing a sorority, he remembered the houses I liked and even their philanthropies. Like, come on, whose mom’s boyfriend does that? Mine does! The best part of it all is I know he does the same and more for my mom. He takes care of her, talks to her, let’s her fall asleep on the couch at the end of the day (and falls asleep with her), and more. He’s the best thing to have ever happened to my mom. I’m not saying she was cranky before him, I’m just saying that I’ve never seen her this happy. She’s found her person, her counterpart. She can talk to him about all the stuff I don’t care about. I’ve listened to many phone calls about anything from light bulbs to shoes. He has left after dinner and then called her 20 minutes later. They’re best friends.
I won’t lie to you though, when he started coming around more, I kind of felt like a toddler who got a new sibling and wasn’t getting as much attention anymore. Let me just set up the scene: I was sitting in my kitchen, work uniform still on, with an empty, crumby plate in front of me. My mom came home from work with her boyfriend following shortly behind her. When he came in, she asked if he wanted food and he replied saying he wasn’t hungry. Naturally she made him 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. Although I had eaten, she didn’t offer me food. It is my mother’s duty to feed people and hello, I am her kin. So there I am, waving my arms saying, “don’t worry, mom! I already ate!” My mom said, “good job, honey!” I sat there with my empty plate to go with my empty heart. I’d been replaced. Just kidding, she loves me, she really does. Besides, I’m in college away from home; she’s got to have someone to play with.
My satirical feelings aside, my mom picked a good one. He’s loyal, honest, and caring. He’s the perfect complement for my mom. They’re constantly inspiring each other to be a better version of themselves, whether it’s through doing a triathlon together or simply cheering each other on through daily endeavors. They’re the definition of #relationshipgoals.
