Meet the parents, volume 2.

So last night Torsten and I went out with his parents to one of our favourite DC restaurants and had a really nice time. His parents seemed much more relaxed, probably in part because they were no longer exhausted, and we were able to interact reasonably well. Afterward, they came back to our apartment for espresso and we sat around and talked for about two hours. It was very comfortable and they asked me some questions about my job and all that.

We also talked about the fact that Torsten and I plan to have children, which I guess came as a bit of a shock to them, not because they necessarily thought that Torsten would never have children but just because it's something that they had never discussed. I think they were pleased, though, and I made sure to emphasize that it's important to us that our children be close with all of their grandparents, and that the fact that they live in Germany does not mean that our kids will barely know them. Since Torsten is an only child, he is his parents' only provider of grandchildren, so I think the fact that he is getting married and planning to have kids comes as somewhat of a relief to his parents.

His parents had also very thoughtfully brought us a huge stack of photos from Torsten's childhood, from infancy through college. This was thrilling to me because I had never seen baby pictures of him before and they were so, so cute. He was this adorable little red-haired toddler in '70s flared jeans and striped sweaters. Then he grew up and had a heinous Steve Urkel Lite haircut in middle school, which was less adorable, but then again when I was in middle school I brushed my curly hair straight until it stuck out in a horrible frizzy triangle, so I can't really judge. Also in fifth grade I wore the same pink sweatshirt to school every single day for like five months straight, so really, I definitely shouldn't be judging. But I do have to say that he has definitely improved with age.

Anyway, his parents treated us to dinner, which was very nice, and then after they left, Torsten told me that they had a) asked him if they could pay for part of the wedding, which is a HUGE relief, and b) told him that I'm very nice and intelligent and they like me a lot, which is another huge relief.

So yes, all of you who wrote "calm down, it'll all be fine, they just feel far away, etc." in the comments of my freak-out post, you were right, and thank you. It's still only been two days and we have a whole week left with them, but so far things seem to be as good as can possibly be expected. And damn it, I will not allow that last sentence to jinx this whole thing.