Do you have a close relative, that you feel you need to prepare your friends to meet?

I have a cousin, hes not embarrassing but he can be a little much. He is a big time skirt chaser and doesnt care if you have a boyfriend or not, hes a “big” guy as in muscle big so he wont hesitate to overstep lines if a girl he wants is invovled. Hes one of the most funny people you will ever meet, and an absolute joy to be around, will do anything you ask and go out of his way for you, but if I plan to go out and want to have a good time and i want to take him along to make the night that much better any friends I have or that we may run into i have to warn them about him.

I prepare all my friends or associates before introducing them to my dysfunctional family. Well mainly my brother and sister.

Pretty much everyone on my mother’s side is crazy in their own way. I told my husband about everyone prior to meeting them. He and I just laugh about it all now.

@casheroo I hope that craziness stopped with your mother. hehe. I had a crazy grandmother and a sister just like her. My father use to say, “I never should have had kids” but then I remind him that he wouldn’t have me then. hehe.

My dad is a newly transitioning male to female transexual. There are so many misconceptions, but if someone made it far enough on my friend scale to meet my dad, I would have no worries about how they would react. But it’s so new, she told us last Thanksgiving, so even some of my friends that have met him before, get to meet her again. She’s not embarassing for me, though.

@KhiaKarma i think thats awesome! that he had the strength to do that is truly something to to be proud of! its rare for someone to be that brave.

@KhiaKarma It must have been difficult for him before with so much conflict in his personal life. Like I said, it is our job to find what ever we must to make our own life happy, because when it is over, it is over. Good for him and wonderfully open minded of you to be able to handle the change with so much love.

My brother marches to his own drum, as the saying goes, but I never have felt any need to prepare people to meet him. I don’t associate with people who aren’t tolerant of others any more than I have to.

I have a rather unique immediate and extended family. We are a moderately dysfunctional bunch each with our own unique quirks. Some of us are jerks, some incredibly nice, some can be down right frightening. All of that being said, I have never once felt the need to prepare anyone to meet anyone else I associate with or am related too. I have to go with @YARNLADY on this one, I am discerning enough not to hang with folks who have the potential to judge the people I love.

@RANGIEBABY please, please think about getting some help with your frustration with your daughter-in-law. I can’t help but seeing your relationship with her reflected in this question. It is very clear that this woman is not changing anytime soon, so it might be in your best interest to face your own issues with the situation and try to move forward with what you have. You, your son, as well has your daughter-in-law and the kids will all be in my prayers.

@SuperMouse Thank you SuperMouse, that was very thoughtful of you. However, this was really about my older sister. My DIL’s issues are frequent, but my sister is super rude all of the time. She does not like it when anyone has a conversation with any of her sisters if she is with them. She takes ownership of the person she is with and will not allow anyone in. She has been seeing a shrink for at least 20 years for this and many other issues. With this latest doctor, I think I am seeing a very slight change. Seriously, I have to prepare people about to meet her, it would be insensitive of me not to.

No, not currently. Before, I might have warned some people about my mother, but at that time I didn’t really think of her behavior as uncommon. She’s far away now so it hasn’t come up anymore.

If anything though, I’m the one people have to warn about before introducing me. >_>

@Symbeline you are funny.

Yes, all of them

When I took my SO to meet the family, I gave him a heads-up about the ex-BIL. The guy often shows up at family gatherings’ mealtimes, uninvited, and walks around the table eating food, including off of some people’s plates. He rarely speaks, unless he has something to say, like whatever his current obsession is…rabbits, bonsai trees, backyard ponds, outdoor fire pits, etc.

We are all quite used to it, but for someone joining us for dinner, it can be a surreal experience, even if forewarned.