I also didn’t want my son to get too attached. Since I recognized that romantic interests can come and go, I didn’t want there to be too many expectations. Interestingly, because I’d been so open early on, he didn’t have a lot of questions or input later, but I knew he was thinking about things, and evaluating.
For example, although my son stayed out of my dating decisions, there was one time when he expressed his reservations, and I listened. He told me that I was wasting my time with a guy because he wasn’t long term potential (not my son’s words, but the gist of the message). I actually knew this (we were dating at a time when my son was away at college), but it was interesting to hear my kid articulate it to me. He was actually able to give examples of my boyfriend’s immaturity—again, ouch!
