world war three? the future in-laws meet

My family is coming to visit. And I'm really nervous.

The funny thing is that I've brought this stress upon myself. I was the one who, upon returning home from California after my sister's 40th birthday in February, suggested that maybe my family should come to DC. After all, they haven't been here in years and I now have a new place that they've never seen.

But really I invited them because I think it's time for my family to meet Jesse's.

Having bicoastal home addresses has prevented our families from meeting in the past. But with my mom and sis coming to town, this would be the perfect opportunity for everyone to get acquainted before the wedding planning begins (actually, that's a total lie. The wedding planning has been going on in my head for quite some time). With my mom's disdain for this Coast, I was beginning to think that our families would be meeting for the first time at our wedding. And that could be bad.

My mom and sis have booked flights and hotel rooms and everything is so official now. They really are coming. Jesse's family heard the news this weekend and we've already made arrangements with them for a big family dinner. This is all starting to come together. And I just can't help feeling a teensy bit of dread.

I wish I knew what to expect. I wish I could prepare myself to deal with disaster. But really, I wish I could just let the chips fall where they may and not worry about things I have no control over (this is Jesse's way of coping with EVERYTHING).

I really don't know how this is going to go.

The way I see it, it could go one of two ways. It could turn out really well. Jesse's dad and my sister will probably dominate the conversation the entire time (they are the family chatterboxes). I could see Jesse's mom and my mom getting along really well due to their mutual love of Lifetime TV and home improvement shows. I could see my sister playing with Jesse's sister's kids--probably doing girly things with London and pretending to like sports for Chauncey's sake. I could see me, worrying and stressing out over everything only for it all to turn out ok.

Or it could be a disaster. Maybe my sister and Jesse's dad will want to talk so much that they will be fighting to be the center of attention (not like physical fighting, but more like talking over each other and the like). Maybe Jesse's mom (who has been experiencing a religious conversion as of late) and my mom will start talking about religion and each mom will try to convert the other to their respective faiths. Perhaps no one will understand my mom because her accent is still pretty thick despite living in the US for over 40 years. Maybe Chauncey will think my sister is a nerd and London will ignore my sister (actually, that's a possibility in both scenarios). My sister will probably complain about the smell of crabs (we're planning on buying a bushel and my sister is anti-seafood) the whole time. And I'll burn the hot dogs and Jesse's hamburgers will come out rare and our hope for a pleasant family BBQ will be dashed.

Their visit is a month away and it really is too early to start freaking out. Yet, I am because this is what I do.

In complete seriousness, I fear that my family might be looked down upon. Granted, I have nothing to go on here. Jesse's family has been nothing but super sweet to me. They've always made me feel like a member of their family. And I realize that these are my own insecurities at play.

So I should probably deal before my family gets here. Thank goodness I've got a month.