There is little more nerve wracking than the first time someone introduces their partner to their parents.
For everyone involved.
Both halves of the couple worry that the parents will judge their every move, disapprove of the partner's choice of profession, or decide that they aren't good enough for their son or daughter.
Making both the child and significant other wish more than anything that they knew what was going through the heads of the parents.
Redditor Umikaloo was also curious to know what parents are thinking the first time they meet their children's new partner, leading them to ask:
"Parents of reddit: How do you feel when your kid brings back a girlfriend/boyfriend? How do you decide whether you like them or not?"
If They're Happy, I'm Happy...
"It's not up to me to like them, it's up to her. If she does, then I do."
"I care that my daughter is, safe, happy, motivated, handling her own business."
"Apart from that, I'm just enjoying watching her experience things, and hoping she includes me in some of that."- Mahhrat
It Can Be Just As Nerve Wracking For Them.
"Met my daughter's boyfriend the other day.'
'First boyfriend."
"She’s 17."
"He’s 18."
"I must admit I was a bit nervous and I remember very well being 18 and what I was thinking/wanting, but had a word with myself to be welcoming and warm and to treat him as an equal, my daughter's friend, and therefore my friend."
"Anyway, he’s a nice young man so it’s all good."
"But to answer your question I guess if he’s nice I’ll like him if he’s a d*ck I won't."
"Either way as far as my daughter is concerned I’ll like him."- dou8le8u88le
watching you meet the parents GIFGiphyJust Give It Time
"I come from a middle class Indian immigrant family and my parents were never cool with us kids having boyfriends."
"So when at the age of 25 I brought my boyfriend home, they were a bit hesitant and took a long time to open up to him."
"My mom went all mother-in-law mode and felt she had to keep up appearances."
"If he came over and she was laying on the couch, she would get up and act all formal."
"The first day he met my dad, I asked my dad afterward what he thinks of my boyfriend, his response was 'don't lose him, that's all'."
"Now he comes over and hangs out with them without an ounce of formality."
"They all have little inside jokes with him, my siblings included."
"My parents went car shopping and I didn't get to go so my dad asked if the boyfriend and I would go take a look at the car one day after work."
"They just really wanted him to check it out too, which felt so special to me because they value his opinion and he's part of the family now."
"I never would have imagined that my family would welcome him like this."
"Melts my heart."- annnabear
Parents Have A Way Of Surprising You
"Not a parent, but this was my experience with my mother when I was a teen."
"So, as a teen, my mother pulled me to the side and gave me the 'gay talk'."
"You know, the ''I'll still love you even if you were gay' talk."
"I asked her why she thought I was gay and she said it was because I never bring any girls to the house."
"Guess what I did within the next few days?"
"I brought a girl in the house."
"Guess what my mother did?"
"She kicked her out and gave me a lecture on how inappropriate it was to bring girls to the house."
"Yes, it makes no sense."- Mr-Klaus
family guy no girls allowed GIFGiphyYoung, YOUNG, Love
"My 4yo daughter introduced me to the 5yo neighbor kid as a bf."
"She told me he's really good at running fast and he appreciates snails as much as she does."
'Needless to say, this is a keeper."- LittleMissEmmet
What Does This Even Mean?
"My daughter just started dating."
"She was mortified when I picked them up and asked if everything was Gucci."- raynbowz13
Just Be Polite, And Wait It Out...
"My daughter, 13, wanted me to meet her first 'real' boyfriend."
"I was nice and pleasant, but I knew it wouldn't last cause he was all looks and no brains."
"Of course, as jr high relationships go, it was about a 2 month ordeal."
"I think all parents should try and be cordial, unless the person feels like a serial killer or something."- littlecakebaker
Ariana Grande Couple GIF by Justin BieberGiphyThat Feeling
"I have always instinctively known within seconds of meeting them. I've liked all but one of my son's partners, and the one I didn't feel right about was the one who screwed him up."
retailface
"I’ve given my daughter the best advice I can give her and she’s leaps and bounds better at relationships than a lot of older adults I know (she’s nearly drinking age where we’re from)."
"That’s not to brag though as a lot of what I told her was don’t do the same dumb sh*t I did. Well that and to always know her worth."
"The moment someone makes her feel less important than they are they get the boot."
"She doesn’t try to fix people she dates. You are who you are and if you’re not right then oh well (a direct quote)."
"Honestly it’s something she said to me once that helped me be better off when dating (married now)."
"I’d made the remark that I hadn’t understood some sappy things people do when they’re in love."
"She looked me dead in the eyes and said “That’s because you’ve loved but never been in love.” She wasn’t wrong and as much as I sometimes hate to admit it she rarely is."
"That caused me to examine the relationship I was in under closer scrutiny than I ever had before."
"My husband today is the most amazing husband and father we could have asked for but never realized (until now) that we deserved."
Buttercup_Bride
Give Me A Reason Not To
"Not a parent so I called my mom. She stated and I quote:"
“I like all of them until they give me reason not to. Then I never tell you whether I like them or not, so I don’t influence your own judgement. I cannot choose for you, although sometimes I wish I could.” - Mrs. UnappreciatedSon
UnappreciatedSon
Act Natural
"It's about respect, if she treats him right, and compatibility."
"On the other end, not her dad, but my girlfriend's roommate is this old grizzled marine dude. She told me that he liked me because I didn't try to get him to like, which apparently most people do. I was just myself and acted naturally, which he appreciated. Just be yourself and the people that will like you will like you, and the people who won't won't. But always be respectful."
HippyKiller925·
Principals
"My stepdaughters boyfriend came into MY house and we were talking about computer games and he had the audacity to tell me why red dead 2 was better than god of war. IN MY HOUSE!! But respect to the lad for that, he stuck to his principals and a year later still argues with me about gaming stuff."
teksti-tv666
Same Brand of Weird
"My eldest is 15, and boys in high school can be....gross. The way they speak to girls (and girls to boys) is just so far out of line it makes me ill. But her boyfriend is respectful to her and her family. Most importantly they're the same brand of weird. They facetime 19 hours a day I swear, but yesterday they had an entire conversation about penguins both using the same weird fake Russian type accent. He's her safe place and without very good cause, I'd never get in the way of that."
EmptyBobbin
Blown Out of Proportion
"Here's my dad's take. He liked my ex-BF at first because he was initially polite and friendly, and I was very happy with him. However, my dad started to notice red flags later on and his opinion of him changed. For example, when we came back to my place from a day trip, he had sulked because I didn't show the enthusiasm he wanted about his favorite landmark. My dad told him that he should forgive me, but he still would not stop whining. My dad later told me that his reaction was blown out of proportion. Basically my dad would decide whether or not to like any guy I bring home based on the way he treats me."
"Edit: I did not show zero interest in what my ex liked. I just wasn't as over the top excited as he wanted me to be."
smalldoggobigpupper
Reflection of Parenting
"I love to meet his girlfriends. In a very self-serving way, I think his ability to attract charming ladies reflects the quality of my parenting."
"On one hand, I like whoever brings joy to his life. On the other hand, I prefer to be around polite and well-spoken people. A bit of nervousness on her part indicates that meeting me is important to her."
3MTAE
It's ingrained in parent's DNA to worry about their children.
And all parents have an idea of how they want their children's lives to turn out.
Hence their immediate trepidation when they bring their first significant other home.
Of course, their trepidation doesn't always come from a place of judgment, but rather a place of sadness.
As the first partner is a bittersweet reminder that their children aren't children anymore.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.