"As long as you like him,

I will like him, too."

My dad once stopped talking to me for 6 month because he didn't like the boy I liked.
If he picked up the phone when I called, he would tell me to hold on and hand it to my mom right away.
This was years ago. I am still a little hurt now whenever I think about it. I am his only daughter after all. and it is not like I was marrying that boy.

My mom didn't like my boyfriend either. Everytime I called her, she would try to convince me to leave him and find someone "normal". and she would went on and explain why the boy I liked at that time was not "normal".

My grandfather like to make this list of qualities he would like to have in my future boyfriend. I never finish listening to his list or reading it if he emails me. He totally forgot that this was my life.

Years have gone by. I start to realize that I will not find someone that's acceptable for my family. They have a totally different idea of what "a normal person" is than me.
I can't change them nor can they change me.

My grandma never said anything about what kinda boy she likes. One time, I called and she was the only one home. I for the first time in a long time get to have a peaceful conversation with her without having other people interrupting her from other lines. (She can't hear very well so my mom or grandfaterh likes to speak for her.)
That's when I asked her what kind of boy she would like to have as my boyfriend.
That's when she said, "As long as you like him, I will like him, too."
"Really?" It almost brought me to tears.
"Even though he has long hair, or is in a band instead of having a real job or is a foreigner or is way older than me?"

"Yeah. As long as you like him."

Silence on my end of the line because if I talk, she will hear my voice breaking up.