Three 20-something women trying to figure out what it means to be lay, Catholic, and modern all at once.


December 8, 2009

Getting Ma'am-ed

The past few days I've been really demanding on my senior students; their senioritis is kicking into high gear and we haven't even hit midterms. After a stern lecture to one of my students, she responded, "Yes, ma'am."

I've been getting "ma'am-ed" a lot lately, and certainly not just by my young students. Waiters, cashiers, people on the street -- all "ma'aming" me. Let me tell you, I'm not too happy about it! I mean, I know it's polite and all, but isn't a young woman in her mid-twenties too young to be addressed as "ma'am"? This makes me afraid that my gray hairs are showing (I'm SO bad and pull the few that I found out) or the puffiness under my eyes is really starting to become permanent from lack of sleep.

N.B. I'm not actually upset. I'd just like to be "Miss Julian" for a few years more!
Our Lady, on your feast day, teach me to be gracious!!!

2 comments:

Edith Magdalene said...

I love getting ma'amed. Maybe it's a Southern thing. Peter ma'ams me all the time and I love it. My students do too. I think it's a sign of their respect. I also Ma'am, even sometimes to the baristas at my local coffee shop, whom I know are younger than me. Don't take it as a sign of age - take it as a sign of their recognition of being in the presence of a lady. And that you are :-)

Aaron Linderman said...

Ditto Edith's comments. Many of my students sir me. Maybe it's the tie; maybe it's the military culture of the school. But I'm only 4-8 years older than they. In any case, I appreciate it (much more than the students who try to address me by my first name).

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