I noticed two things last night. First - I've left this kid with so many different sitters that now, whenever a new person comes over, he spends the first half hour stuck to my side like a dryer sheet. I guess he needs that time to see me settle into my second drink to he know I'm staying put.
The second thing I noticed was the whole "Uncle" scenario. Remember when we were kids and every one of your parents friends were called Mr and Mrs?? I still have friends of my parents who I call that. There are a few whom I'm on a first name basis with now that I secretly cringe whenever I call them Joan or Dave or Barb. The Mr and Mrs were a sign of respect and frankly - I liked it.
But....those people were OLD, right? I mean, we can't be that old can we that our friends kids should call us Mr and Mrs (or ummm - Ms?). Last night it hit me - We ARE that old!!! So what happened to the whole respectful name calling of your elders by the last name. Does anyone do this anymore??
I decided last night to bring it back. And then I pictured Will calling Clark (well in a couple years...once he drops the animal sounds schtick) Mr. Hargreaves and I almost peed my pants laughing. As IF!!! But what's changed?
I totally remember the Mr and Mrs thing and struggled to start calling my in-laws by their first names after 4 years of dating my now husband. But I don't think that a child has to use Mr or Mrs (or Ms) to show respect. As a matter of fact I knew a loooooooot of kids growing up who used Mr and Mrs but never really got the whole respect thing down. My kids call my friends by their first names but they say "please" and "thank you" and they follow their rules in their homes. In my opinion, this shows respect, not the label. Plus, I would kill someone if they called me Mrs Maier. That, my friends, is my 80 year-old mother-in-law!
ReplyDeleteAnother post that's like you're inside my head. Can't tell you what the change is but like Jen I can't imagine being called Ms. X. But I also can't come around to call some of my friends' parents by their first name despite their insistence I do just that. Nope, not gonna do it. But is it disrespectful to not do as they ask? Sigh - another conundrum I just thought of.
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