Dear Edward,

I’ve been dating this girl for awhile now. We have both said it isn’t serious, but last week she invited me to go to her parents’ house for Thanksgiving. I feel that going with her will cause our relationship to jump from casual to serious, and I’m not sure if I am ready for that. On the other hand, if I say no, she might think I don’t really want to be with her and break it off with me all together. What should I do?

~Scared Boyfriend

Dear Scared,

There aren’t many things that can cause a guy to panic like being invited to the meet the parents of a girlfriend.

The real question is, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid that if your relaionship became serious you would have to give up your time with your friends? Or maybe you are afraid that in a serious relationship you wouldn’t be good enough.

From your question I can see that you really aren’t ready to lose her and there is no certainty that you would if you didn’t go. So go ahead and tell her yes.

A serious relationship isn’t that bad. The truth is she may not even want to elevate the relationship to serious. It is possible that she just wants to spend the holiday with you.

A lot of times guys see meeting the parents as a test. They seem to think that it is the parents’ opinion of them that allows their girlfriend to love them.

From what I have been told, it is usually the opposite. A lot of girls are more worried about what you think of her parents than what they think of you.

So go ahead and have some fun. There will be good food (I hope), you’ll get to meet some new people and hang out with the girl you like. To me that sounds like a lot to be thankful for.