A Woman Handed Out Pamphlets To Her Family To Answer All Their Pestering Questions Ahead Of A Date

The 27-year-old, who said her large family is of the "nosy" variety, encouraged others to employ her strategy.

Mary Beth Barone inspired a lot of people Wednesday after sharing a pamphlet she handed out to family members while on a trip last year to Pompano Beach, Florida.

"I'm Going on a Date While We're on Vacation," it read. "Here's everything you don't actually need to know but definitely will ask."

The 27-year-old, who lives in New York City, told BuzzFeed News she had met a guy from Florida at a wedding a few weeks prior to the vacation, and made plans to meet him in Miami. She was, however, more nervous about how to sneak away from her extended family, totaling some 30 people, to do it.

"I wasn't sure how to play it with all the family around, so I was lamenting to my one sister I told because I knew there would be a lot of questions," she said.

Barone said her sister joked about "mak[ing] a pamphlet," but she thought it was a sincerely good idea.

"I created a doc, and thus the pamphlet was born," she said.

Inside, on the first page of the pamphlet, Barone anticipated her parents' and various others' instinctive responses. And addressed them chronologically.

"I said I'm going on a date. While we're on vacation," she wrote. "Please remain calm."

She then created a comprehensive "Frequently Asked Questions" section to efficiently and preemptively address any other concerns she knew they would have about this venture.

Some of the questions included prodding inquiries about who the man was, what he did, the ins and outs of their budding romance, where she was going, and other important safety concerns.

"More questions? Don't," Barone concluded the pamphlet. She then attached a picture of a dog with a fun factoid about her date.

Barone said her family is "super close" and sometimes "nosy," so they "definitely aren't shy with the questions."

"But it definitely goes both ways — I'll ask anyone in my family an invasive question and I expect an answer," she said, laughing.

Barone said upon handing out the pamphlet to her family in Florida, everyone was "totally on board" and were able to laugh at themselves over it.

"Everyone felt informed and comfortable, which was the goal," she said. "I know that all their questions come from a place of love and caring, and I was glad I could ease any worries by overcommunicating."

Plus, she made sure to text them when she arrived at the site of her date.

Fortunately, the date went well, Barone told BuzzFeed News. But unfortunately, and sadly more resonant, the Miami guy "ghosted [her] a few weeks later." Still, she was proud of her pamphlet and shared them with the world.

And people were really inspired.

"I'll have to remember to create something like this when I visit my family and need an alibi to go to the local bowling alley and order a family-size nachos all by myself," one person wrote.

@marybethbarone This showed up in my feed and I’m so happy it did. Really made my day and I’m 100% going to communicate mostly in pamphlet form from now on. Haha.

@marybethbarone An inspirational approach to Big Family Problems, thank u

"I'm happy this pamphlet has resonated with people, and I encourage others to employ this strategy at large family gatherings [and] vacations," she added.

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