Libby Hill

Dear Libby,

My boyfriend has invited me on a trip with him over spring break. The problem is, it would just be us two. OK, no, that’s not the problem. The problem is that my parents are concerned that it will just be us two.

The thing is, I’ve been sleeping with him for about 8 months now, but my parents live in the idealized world of the 1950s and assume that we’re waiting for marriage. We don’t live together so my parents assume that everything is PG or PG-13 at the very most between us.

So I’d love to go on this trip with him, but my parents think it’s a bad idea because of the situation that would be us two, alone in hotels.

Do I come clean and tell my parents that it’s too late to worry about that? Or do I just skip the trip and keep everything on the down low? Or take the trip and pretend that nothing happened?

Adding to the problem is that my parents are still helping to pay for my education. I don’t know if something like this would stop the cash flow or not, but I’d rather not risk it.

–Ready for some R&R

Dear Ready,

You have yourself quite the sticky situation here and I’ll try to advise the best I know how.

I have to say that in most cases I try to have an “honesty is the best policy” policy, though sometimes it’s necessary to tweak the sentiment a bit.

I think that it’s perfectly appropriate for you to address your parents fears and communicate to them that you are an adult and whatever happens, you’ve taken it into consideration, and are prepared for the consequences. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to specifically mention or even talk about the fact that you and your boyfriend have, on occasion, done the naked monkey dance, as sometimes there are things that parents would rather not know about.

I understand your concern about your parents reaction and think that it’s admirable that you’re worried about their reaction. Speaking to them relatively openly about their concerns lets them know that you still care what they have to say and think and will ultimately mean a lot to them.

In short, I think you deserve a break, Ready, and you and your boyfriend should go and enjoy a lovely and relaxing spring break.

Libby can help you, too! Send her a quick note: [email protected].