Father in law gave me his dress shirts
My girlfriend (F20) and I (M20) have been together for just coming up on 2 years later this month, all throughout our relationship her family have been incredibly loving and caring to me, something I hadn’t felt much before with my family, with them being much more standoff-ish and cold.
I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it, but my girlfriend and her family are of Hispanic heritage, and my family is all White,
It’s been a big culture difference, with even some of the people on my side of the family asking how I adjusted, with me finding it calming and welcoming even when I myself don’t speak Spanish which her family almost entirely speaks.
Out of everyone in her family I think the person who has had one of the heaviest impacts on me and slowly becoming a man myself, is her Father.
Me and him are incredibly similar in demeanor, hobbies, and personality, with us both being big gamers, super into Skyrim and other RPGs, as well as Boxing, and just talking about life in general.
For reasons I won’t disclose here for privacy and respect for him, a few years ago he contracted a sickness that he still very much deals with to this day, making it difficult to go out, work, or even help with chores.
Earlier today I went over to help them out with moving a few heavy items out of their home, Ive become completely comfortable helping them often 2-4 days a week, which im happy to do since it’s usually my girlfriend and her mother doing most of the chores due to circumstances.
After we got done, with all of the summer cleaning, my father in law and his wife brought out about 20 very nice guayaberas that I’ve seen him wear on our trips to Chicago (a common trip about every 3 months to see family)
They were talking about donating them to the local shelter and then they paused for a moment and my father in law offered to just give me the ones that fit me,
I was incredibly grateful and overwhelmingly happy to receive them, and said thank you a million times.
It was bittersweet taking them, part of me was happy to receive such an honor of a gift, and another part of me felt awful taking over a dozen very nice Guayaberas (traditional pleated dress shirts) made in Mexico.
I will wear these shirts with pride,
I respect him very much as a father and as a man, he’s been there for me in ways he could never know and with always be someone I aspire to be like, and while my family has been distant and cold, I will always be thankful to be accepted into my girlfriend’s family, and to have her and her family in my life.