Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Ramblin' Man... Er, Woman...

I had a random thought the other day about a tiny subject that made me sad. With the trend of children using first names for adults (including their parents!), there is a distinct possibility that I will never be called "Mrs. Cowboy" by my children's little friends. I will merely be Cora.

All of my life, I've longed to be Mrs. MarriedSurname, but in our society of holding a greater value on childhood and youth than age and wisdom, people don't want to be thought of as "older" than the youth surrounding them. They take offense to being addressed as Mr. or Mrs. Surname. Even Sir or Ma'am, which were drilled into me as the most basic of decency are now abhorred.

Perhaps you think I'm strange. It wouldn't be the first time. I look forward to the gray hair and wrinkles in my future. To grandchildren. To growing old with my beloved Cowboy.

What do you think? Do you look forward to growing older? Would you be offended by being called Mrs. Surname or Mr. Surname?

...

My next ramble:

"'Um.' Society's Necessary Superfluous Sound"

3 comments:

  1. I've noticed that myself, and I fully intend to train my children to use Mr. and Mrs., that is, when I have children. ;) That is also what I will like to be called, I think. I'm definitely with you on this one! Using the proper names is a sign of respect.

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  2. Although I don't prefer children to address adults by first name, sometimes i feel Mr/Mrs Surname can be too formal for some relationships. Aunt/Uncle can be used for closer relationships, and even Grandpa/Grandma First Name for an elderly person can be very endearing.

    When children first started prefacing my first name with Miss, I didn't like it, but now it's grown on me. The Russians and Pentecostals sprung a new one on me -- Sister Katie. I like it much better, it still has the "respect" in it, but it's more gentle and endearing. At first it sounded Catholic to me, but now I am quite fond of it.

    I think after marriage I'd still like to be Sister Katie, or Aunt Katie. As I grew older and earned some gray hair, either Mama or Grandma prefacing my first or last name would do nicely.

    There is definitely a time and place for Mr and Mrs, but I think the less formal terms of respect could be used a little more freely.

    Love you... and I'm glad to have found your blog! ;-)

    -Sister Kate ;-)

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  3. Amen! It has always felt weird to me to call adults by their first name, unless they are introduced to me as such. For instance, at work I hardly know anybody's last name. However, just about anywhere else, I would never think to use their first name. It catches people off guard when I say "yes ma'am" or "yes sir".

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