Mr. and Mrs.

Out of  the mouth of my babes…

Max:  “A few years ago, I thought that  ladies peed from their bum.”  Insert crazy laughing.

Tyler: ” Today we had to watch the Miracle of Life.  It was gross.  That lady had too much hair.  If she knew that she was going to be video’d she should have shaved.”  Insert his mom’s face that has a very disturbed look!

Yikes…  I love seeing my boys learning stuff…especially the things that are about life and not learned in school.  Sometimes the facts about life can be so shocking!

I had a good day today.  I took my T out of lunch… and tried to talk to him.  I wanted him to know that life, high school, all that stuff is rough at times.  I wanted him to know that I think that he is awesome.  I wanted him to know that I really need him to talk when things are bothersome so we can help him.

T… instead of writing out my kids names I am going to use initials… since this isn’t really about them but about me.  I was telling them about this…. and said pick a name you want me to use… this is what I was given…  check it out…  some of the names my boys wanted to be known as…  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCdmiZyyGjQ.  They are so silly.
If you looked at the calendar at our house, you would see that it is calling for more hockey!  Today Z plays @6 p.m. and JJ and T play @ 7 p.m.  It works out that I can run them in and Sanj will be there to pick them all up.  J was in bed way to late last night.  I am so glad that I can zip into town and zip back.  

I need to be home in the evenings.  It just gives everyone a sense of all is right.  When you have a big house load of kids, it is a blessing to have friends that are willing to pitch in with rides when needed.  

I had the nicest lunch with a friend, totally spontaneous.  It was a great way to spend a bit of time decompressing.  As she talked about my blog, she said how I change from topic to topic…  I looked at her… quizzically, wondering if this is a bad thing?  She said, “you never finish on the topic you start.”  True… I am a bit of an ADHD blogger!  ðŸ™‚  So on a totally different note…

Today I was in the school and passed a bunch of kids…  some said, “Hi Mrs. Sukumaran…” others said, “Hi Reema…”  It is such a funny thing… addressing a senior person with their title.  Do you teach your kids to call adults by Mr. or Mrs.?  This is how I grew up.  Everyone was Mr. or Mrs… or they were auntie or uncle.  It didn’t matter if there was blood relations there.

I kind of liked it… I didn’t have to worry about names.  Everyone was family.  In the last years, we have another Indian (though mixed with other nationalities too) at our school.  They are great.  There is a chemistry that was there from the first.  As we were deciding what the kids would call the adults, it was almost an immediate and natural thing.  Auntie and Uncle… of course.  They are like family.  Actually at times even better as they don’t come with the drama that family can bring.  I love walking down the hall and hearing their little ones call out, “Hi Auntie Reema…”

Sanj is old school.  He hates being called Sanj by little people… just saying.  It is a cultural thing.  It is something that is engrained in us.  Often I see teachers, for example, on Facebook… and befriend them.  Often they will say, “Forget the Mrs….”  Yet I can’t.  There is respect there… respect that was earned.  

Yet, I see so often the kids using an adult’s first name… is this a north american thing?  I don’t know.  I do know that I teach my kids to always call someone their senior by their title.  It just feels wrong to me to teach them any other way.

So… I am curious… what do you teach your kids?  Is this no longer a sign of respect?  

This picture is of Z having roasted corn on the sidewalk when we were in Little India… Yummy!  The works included salt, chili and lime…


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