Explaining Ethical Non-Monogamy To My Parents
They’ve been married for 33 years.
My parents met in a much simpler time. It was the mid-80s and my dad saw my mom across the room at a party. He walked over, asked for her phone number, and the next day, he called to ask her out. Because it was a landline phone, my mom couldn’t screen the call, or ignore his texts, or even stalk him on Instagram. She answered, not knowing who it was, and had to give him an answer on the spot.
So, without any modern-day complicating factors, she said yes.
They went on a date, then another, they got engaged, then married and two years later, they had their first child… me!
I’m sure when they first looked into my eyes, they did not expect that thirty-two years later, we’d all be standing in their kitchen having this conversation.
Mom was smiling, hopeful, “So how’s it going with that guy?”
“Well, he said ultimately he’s looking for this,” I said as I intertwined my fingers, just like the guy had done when I asked him what he was looking for in a relationship.
“What’s that?” my mom said, pointing to my intertwined fingers.
“He said he wants, like, a long-term spiritual, sexual, emotional, physical, and intellectual connection with one…
