Parents, Meet The Parents - Matt Rennels Edition

This past weekend was the first weekend of my new life, my parents just met my girlfriend's parents.

Here's a little disclaimer for you: Wednesday's are often slow due to a lack of scheduled sports and the start of a new work week (As print day, our Wednesdays are your Mondays), so I thought I'd get a little personal on the ol' blog.

My girlfriend, Tasha, is a graduate student at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, which is where I also live. She actually came there straight from Minnesota, why? Well, let's just call that a fate thing, because I'm not sure why else anyone would land in podunk Charleston if it weren't for fate.

Well, I won't lie, my romantic life before Tasha was pretty dry. Yep. It's true. I never had a relationship last beyond three months, so, this was the first time my parents got to shake hands with another set of parents and impress them with baked goods and/or grilling skills.

My dad cooked bratwursts, my mom made a cherry dessert.

And somehow I saw my parents and brother in a new light, and it wasn't necessarily a bright one. It's at moments like these that your mom's interesting choice of phrases or your father's selection of pants really shine through, like never before. And you never really noticed how ugly that green kitchen wallpaper is until a moment like this...

And, yes, turns out its ugly.

I spent much of the weekend helping Tasha entertain her family, going to EIU's Homecoming game, taking them to the bizarre, yet fun, Lincoln Springs Resort for mini golf, and everything else Tasha could think up. The families' mixer was relatively brief, as my dad visited with them for one evening and then the whole clan came together for the dinner.

As these things normally go, it went fine, and, or, very well. It's one of those things that you walk out, check your pulse, and then say,

"ALLLLL RIIIGHT, BABY! I'm STILL alive!!!!! ... and then you start worrying back to specific instances, like the fork you dropped or the milk you dribbled off your chin and onto your shirt, or when the family dog had a seizure and your mom started crying (Don't worry, Mr. Flizzle Flop is OK.), but then you remember your beating pulse, you're fine.

Honestly, I've been very blessed by the whole relationship with this beautiful young woman, and the addition of her family to the mix is nothing but a bonus. I'm very excited about what lays ahead of us, as I hope this was only one of many more adventures.