I'm always really amused when people call me "Miss". I'm not sure why. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm not used to people being formal with me, and when people are formal with me I'm not sure how to react to that.
But then again, I tend to call parents of significant others "Mr." and "Mrs." so-and-so, a possibly good habit that I will credit to my father's indoctrination ability. I also used to call professors "Professor" so-and-so, until they told me otherwise. A couple professors I esteem highly I still call "Professor". A couple teachers I had in high school I call "Mr."; I don't think I could ever get used to calling them by their first names. That just seems weird to me.
The young secretary in my apartment complex learned my name the day I moved in and always calls me "Miss ______". I wish I could be that good with names.
The Marines in the recruiting station the other day called me "Miss" as well. What I find amusing about that is I know it's something they get ingrained with at basic (training, bootcamp, MCRD, etc.) and that they probably wouldn't be so formal with me if they knew me by name. Before my dad retired I was always "Gunny _____'s daughter". The memory makes me smile.
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3 comments:
I'm the same way. There's an elderly man at the lake I've known since I was a pup. I always call him Mr. C. and his wife Mrs. C.
Feel good about being called Miss. It's when they call you Mam that you might start to worry. Not that that's bad.
When I read your post I recalled how uncomfortable I felt last night at parent-teacher interviews. Do I address the teacher by his first name, do I address him formally as Mr. Thompson or do I call him Mr. T like the kids do??? For a split second I felt like a school-kid again.
I prefer to address (and be addressed by) other adults using first names. Formality, outside of formal settings, feels pretentious to me.
I do occasionally get ma'am though and it makes me cringe.
Wordpecker: Thanks for the comment! I think, as far as teachers are concerned, calling Mr. Thompson when you greet him and then his first name thereafter would be appropriate. Also, introducing yourself by your first name and your relationship with your child would make Mr. T feel comfortable calling you by your first name. That would be my strategy, but then again I don't have kids to care for and teachers to speak with at parent-teacher interviews.
I get called ma'am sometimes. It doesn't bother me as much, and maybe it's because I spent a lot of time around military personnel growing up. My dad did a good job with teaching me military etiquette, and I got an extra dose when I was studying to become a Marine officer.
I'll have to agree with Don, however. I prefer being called Miss to Ma'am. :)
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