Her Peeps

[PEP Guy]

Seems like every sistah I've ever dated, her mom was in our mix like a bad deejay. Everything we did, everything I said, anything I wore, she had an opinion on. There were times when I was madd broke, trying to gift my girl, but her peeps always had something smart to say, always scrutinizing and devaluing me and my tokens of affection. I bought one of my girls a stuffed animal with an earring in its ear, and her moms was like, "What are you, in grade school?" When I bought one girlfriend some candy, her peeps said, "Why the fuck he buy you some Lemonheads?" Didn't matter that it was her favorite candy -my thoughtfulness didn't count. When I bought another girl Godiva chocolate, her moms convinced her it was too exotic and put it in the freezer, where she would fetch it a year later during an emotional case of the "lonelies." I asked one dad if we could have a man-to-man talk and he said "You'd better speak to my wife." I asked another father the same thing, and he looked around confused.

I expect her parents to be critical, but I don't expect them to be combative, interfering, or destructive. It's not that I'm sensitive but it's hard to pitch woo when someone is standing on the sidelines rating your efforts. The truth is, you can probably dodge and dismiss the friends. But you have to deal with her family -there's no way around it. I'd know it if there was.

Does anybody else have this problem?