Eight months into dating ''CoolGirl'' -- after meeting her family and apparently passings their tests -- it was time to introduce her to my parents.

And it wasn't just a routine weekend. My father was being ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. CoolGirl had no qualms about dating the son of a preacher man -- in fact she downloaded the Dusty Springfield tune.

On our way to Columbia, S.C., I prepped her on everyone she would meet.

''My parents will love you, but beware,'' I teased her. ``Dad will make sure you feel comfortable and mom will probably ask you some questions to get to know you. She may even deliver her trademark arched eyebrow, but don't read too much into that. She's a high school teacher -- I think it's just a reflex.

``You'll meet my younger brother. He has two great children that totally took the pressure off me to provide any grandkids.

``And since it's a big weekend for my family, you will also meet my aunt who is my dad's younger sister; my grandma, who is my dad's mom; my uncle, who is my mom's older brother; and his wife, who will definitely interrogate you.''

CoolGirl started to look a bit confused, but was confident she would pass any tests.

As we made our way closer to my home, things started to feel a bit like deja-vu, and for good reason. I had been through this before, bringing home a young lady to meet my parents. Twice.

To me, meeting the parents is a big step. You don't just take anyone home to meet mom or dad. Why would you -- no one wants to be second-guessed or hear whispers of disappointment.

The first time I brought someone to meet the parents was in high school, standard practice in those years when parents are trying to keep a close watch. The second time was with my ex-wife.

This time it felt new and old all at once. I was nervous, and wondered if they would get along. But being 11 years older than the last time I took someone home, I was also confident that this meeting would be positive, that knowing more about myself now would mean making better relationship choices. And there would be no language barriers because CoolGirl speaks Spanish and can better communicate with my older family members.

When we arrived, I was expecting chaos, but the rest of the family wasn't there yet so CoolGirl would get plenty of attention. And boy, did she get it.

My dad made sure her café con leche was prepared with heated milk. And he picked out fresh flowers from his garden and had some waiting for her. (When did my childhood home turn into a Ritz-Carlton?)

''He never does that for me,'' my mom joked.

My brother pulled out videos we made as kids, full of embarrassing moments, of course.

My mom made sure the newspaper was folded to the day's Soduku puzzle (a CoolGirl favorite) -- and it turns out a friend has known CoolGirl's mom for years.

As I watched my family recruit CoolGirl that night and throughout the weekend, the deja-vu started to fade. There really wasn't anything familiar about this scenario. One aunt and grandma were happy she spoke Spanglish. My uncle couldn't believe she went to the same high school in Orlando as his daughter. And everyone laughed at her jokes and quips.

My family was not going to let CoolGirl get away.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@