Seven hours they had talked and they could have gone on until dawn.

September 12, 2014 11:26 AM

We were each other’s firsts. I was 16, a stressed-out immigrant kid, she was the daughter of Colombian Catholics who were quite fond of the church’s policy on pre-marital sex. So it took us quite a while to awkwardly, semi-defeatedly concede to each other that we had run out of excuses to avoid sex. “This weekend?” I said grimly. A very sweet Guardian piece called "My parents helped me to lose my virginity" by novelist Boris Fishman.
posted by jbickers (12 comments total)

That's a sweet story. Everyone should have a family that loving.
posted by Dip Flash at 11:33 AM on September 12, 2014

I can almost see my parents doing something like this. It's always been the small, subtle, unspoken things that communicated that, regardless of what they thought - or told us in no uncertain terms - about our choices, they would support us as best they could. My family is also Eastern European and Jewish and I wonder if, as Fishman implies, there's a cultural aspect to this kind of parenting.
posted by capricorn at 11:43 AM on September 12, 2014

Same here, capricorn. My dad's side is from Russia and my mom's from eastern Europe (both sides are Jewish). This is definitely something that they would have done without a thought (although I'm also sure that they would tease me about it at some point in my life). Hell, my grandparents would probably have done this for me had I ever asked. I'll never forget my parents responses when I told them I am gay. My mom wondered if I was seeing anyone and my dad asked me "is he cute?"
posted by Strass at 11:52 AM on September 12, 2014 [14 favorites]

Awww, that was nice!

And now I wonder if my parents knew...
posted by wenestvedt at 11:53 AM on September 12, 2014

I can state, categorically, that Dark Lutheran parents do not behave this way.
posted by Fezboy! at 12:20 PM on September 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

Wow, ironed sheets. Everyone should have a partner that loving.
posted by Kabanos at 12:23 PM on September 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

It's funny, though, this seems very Russian to me. I don't know if it's still the same there; though the percentage of private homes has increased, millions of Russians still live in cramped Soviet-era apartment blocks, many still with shared bathrooms, and there was a very similar article to this that has stayed with me for about 20+ years about how difficult it was to find places to make love if you lived in Moscow (though I doubt that was something specific to the capital). This is not that piece, but contains similar sentiments: Sex and the Future of Russian Society: Ironically, a park bench often provides more privacy than a crowded apartment shared with several family members. The one I remember talked about using strategems or trading favors to get an empty apartment for an afternoon.
posted by dhartung at 12:35 PM on September 12, 2014

A wonderful story.
posted by infinitewindow at 12:52 PM on September 12, 2014

Would the parents have been as accommodating with a daughter? Or if the girl in question had been the daughter of the parental boss? Or a member of their temple? Were the girl's parents consulted?

(Yes, I have a teenage daughter.)
posted by IndigoJones at 2:51 PM on September 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I know I've just had a long tiring day, but this story has me in tears. It's nice to see a story about supportive parents.
posted by Marinara at 5:39 PM on September 12, 2014

I love this, thank you!
posted by Salamandrous at 7:05 PM on September 12, 2014

That's wonderful.
posted by anadem at 8:13 PM on September 12, 2014