Sunday silliness: Ripped from the headlines:”Girlfriend upset that parents are dating”

[Editor’s note: This is more than the headline or a line from the article, though the title is a bit odd: Girlfriend upset that parents are dating. The girlfriend of one of the parents. Dating her? I thought the title and letter/response was worth posting. It is from the “Ask Amy” advice column that appears in my local newspaper.]

DEAR AMY: My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost two years.
(Ed. note: Each other, I assume, but this point is unclear. They could have been dating several people for a total time of two years.)

We plan on getting married someday.
(Ed note: Isn’t that what they always say?)

Yesterday we found out that his mom and my dad have been secretly dating.
(Ed. note: I guess it is a secret no longer.)

Neither his mom nor my father seems to see our problem with this. But if they continue dating and decide they want to get married, doesn’t that mean my boyfriend and I would now be brother and sister?
(Ed. note: Ah, the human genome conundrum.)

Is there any way I can talk sense into them?

–Betrayed

Once upon a half-cocked notion…

DEAR BETRAYED: If you truly believe that your boyfriend’s mother and your father marrying would turn you to into siblings, then — please — do not get married and procreate.
(Ed. note: Definitely good advice.)

If your respective parents are single and available, then there is no reason they can’t (or shouldn’t) date.
(Ed. note: Except maybe the chance that they could produce a half-Betrayed child.)

However, while there is nothing you can (or should) do to prevent these two adults from dating, you do have a right to express yourselves. Mainly, you should do your best to communicate your discomfort to both parents. They should do their best to be open with you.

If these two got married and you also got married, you and your guy would become both step-siblings and spouses.
(Ed. note: and the step-mother would also be the mother-in-law and the step-father would also be the father-in-law. Think of all the money and headache that would be saved at Christmas and other holidays, especially if the young couple has children. And if the older couple has a child, too, then you have a step-child that’s stepping all over the human genome! Oh, the humanity!)