When a 'Miss' gets married
So before I got married I had as good friends a family with younger kids. The children referred to me as Miss Ruth. Then, two years ago, I got married. Now they refer to me as Miss Ruth and my husband as Mr. Boaz. Except -- we recently got together, and its starting to feel weird because, after all, I'm married now, and Miss is for an unmarried lady? On the other hand, it's been two years since I was married.
How have other families handled this with their children when your friends got married. Any ideas of a good way of handling it? It feels like asking the kids to all me Mrs. LastName instead of Miss Ruth is going from informal to more formal -- and I don't want to change the relationship that way. But Mrs. Ruth -- feels weird. It doesn't sound "right" and I REALLY don't like Ms.!
Suggestions?
How have other families handled this with their children when your friends got married. Any ideas of a good way of handling it? It feels like asking the kids to all me Mrs. LastName instead of Miss Ruth is going from informal to more formal -- and I don't want to change the relationship that way. But Mrs. Ruth -- feels weird. It doesn't sound "right" and I REALLY don't like Ms.!
Suggestions?
posted by MommyLydia | 5/20/2006 04:19:00 PM
5 Comments:
It sounds weird and is kinda awkward, but the Cubbies leaders here go by "Mrs. Ruth". Except me (I'm the director). What's easier (and more fun) to say: "Mrs. Rebecca" or "Mrs. Milky"? They love it. lol.
When kids say it I don't think it means "Miss" as in unmarried. It's just a way to be informally formal :) Kids can't call you by your first name, and if you don't want them to call you by your last name, then this is a way of being respectful. Sometimes kids just say "miss" instead of missus. I don't think it really means anything.
I grew up in Alabama (and am living there now after 24 years away) and we always called women we knew "Miss Firstname." Men we knew were "Mister Firstname." Those with whom we were only slightly acquainted were "Mrs. Lastname." I see now in our small town and in our church things still are the same. But we (and children here now) would NEVER call an adult by her first name only. That would be disrespectful.
I'm in the deep south also, and here it's considered absolutely appropriate to call a married woman Miss Firstname. Mrs. Lastname is actually considered extremely formal.
I'm not from the South (although I like the folks down there), nor is anyone in my family, but that's how we did it too (Miss SoandSo, Mr. SoandSo, regardless of marital status).
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