First time being called ma'am!

[MrsKreamer]

I went to a grade school open house this past week. We were thinking of puttin Kurt jr in their PreK3 program in the fall. Anyway I had to fill out a little card and hand it to a student(middle schooler). I asked her "I give this to you?" She replied "Yes Ma'Am!"

That's it! I am officially old! lol...at the ripe old age of 24 I have been called ma'am!


Want to share your first expeirence with being calle dma'am or sir?

 

[Buckalew11]

LOL, I am so old I can't even remember it. I say it to all ages so I don't associate it with being old though!

 

[monarchsfan16]

I got called ma'am by a customer over the summer. She was standing right in front of me. I was 19 at the time . Oh and did I mention that most people think I'm younger than I am?

Edit: This happened in New ENgland, where ma'am is used on older people.

 

[lucyanna girl]

She was probably just a G.R.I.T.S. My Daddy would have given me a look that could melt steel if he has heard me be rude to an adult by not saying Sir or Ma'am. I still do it if the person I am addressing is older than me.
DH and I have been married for almost 21 years. His first wife and I are close friends now but when we first married I called her Ma'am because she was a few years older than I am. At that point she did not like me very much!

Penny

 

[MrsKreamer]

She was probably just a G.R.I.T.S. My Daddy would have given me a look that could melt steel if he has heard me be rude to an adult by not saying Sir or Ma'am. I still do it if the person I am addressing is older than me.
DH and I have been married for almost 21 years. His first wife and I are close friends now but when we first married I called her Ma'am because she was a few years older than I am. At that point she did not like me very much!

Penny

Oh I know. I was taught the 10 year rule. If you think someone is 10 years older than you, you call them ma'am or sir. She was at least 10 years younger than me. It was just one of those, oh my I am a grown up now moments...lol. I really was tickled by the whole thing!

 

[Anewman]

I use Ma'am and Sir as terms of respect, I do not take age into consideration when using the term.

 

[KristinBelle]

LOL, I am so old I can't even remember it. I say it to all ages so I don't associate it with being old though!

Yep. Everyone down here just does it because it's nice manners, ma'am and sir to young and old. My daughter has been called ma'am and she's 10 years old. It's really nice, I love it.

 

[PottersMom]

The crazy person who said that to you was probably from the south and should not be taken seriously. I am originally from new york- you don't call people maa'm unless you are TRYING to make someone feel old. then I moved to South Carolina and EVERYONE is Ma'am here. I see women talking to 4 year olds calling them Ma'am. It freaked me out at first, but then you start doing it too. Like y'all. I say that now too.
And if they aren't ma'am, its Miss First Name- as in, Miss Sara or Miss Linda. Nobody is just Sara or Linda, and you never respond to a question without Ma'am- unless you're a rude yankee. these people are so weird. The boys call their fathers 'sir' all the time.(we only did that if we were in BIG trouble)
And it's not real sweet tea unless its 2 parts sugar/1 part tea and the sugar is added while the tea is still brewing. If you tell as southerner to just add sugar to their tea to make it sweet , they just laugh at you- the way you laugh at a child with an imaginary friend.
I just go, "ppfhff- WHATEVER, LADY"

 

[PottersMom]

BTW Im kidding- I LOVE sweet tea, and you can definately tell the difference between adding sugar, and brewing sweet tea. don't let those yankees fool you.

 

[Buckalew11]

Yep. Everyone down here just does it because it's nice manners, ma'am and sir to young and old. My daughter has been called ma'am and she's 10 years old. It's really nice, I love it.

And if I have ever met your 10yo DD, I am one calling her ma'am.

 

[momto2girls]

The crazy person who said that to you was probably from the south and should not be taken seriously. I am originally from new york- you don't call people maa'm unless you are TRYING to make someone feel old. then I moved to South Carolina and EVERYONE is Ma'am here. I see women talking to 4 year olds calling them Ma'am. It freaked me out at first, but then you start doing it too. Like y'all. I say that now too.
And if they aren't ma'am, its Miss First Name- as in, Miss Sara or Miss Linda. Nobody is just Sara or Linda, and you never respond to a question without Ma'am- unless you're a rude yankee. these people are so weird. The boys call their fathers 'sir' all the time.(we only did that if we were in BIG trouble)
And it's not real sweet tea unless its 2 parts sugar/1 part tea and the sugar is added while the tea is still brewing. If you tell as southerner to just add sugar to their tea to make it sweet , they just laugh at you- the way you laugh at a child with an imaginary friend.
I just go, "ppfhff- WHATEVER, LADY"

I agree with all of this. Sigh... I miss South Carolina. I live in Ohio now and really like it here, but I miss the genteel aspects on the south.

 

[MrsKreamer]

I agree with all of this. Sigh... I miss South Carolina. I live in Ohio now and really like it here, but I miss the genteel aspects on the south.

See I am born and raised in New Orleans and have never been called ma'am before...

 

[aprilgail2]

The crazy person who said that to you was probably from the south and should not be taken seriously. I am originally from new york- you don't call people maa'm unless you are TRYING to make someone feel old.
And if they aren't ma'am, its Miss First Name- as in, Miss Sara or Miss Linda. Nobody is just Sara or Linda,

Uggg those are my two pet peeves, I can not STAND being called Ma'am-it is just so sarcastic and I am not fond of Miss-first name either. I prefer to be called by my first name, thats my name and I like it.

 

[kristen821]

I hate being call ma'am or miss. That is my mother not me!!

 

[Pop Daddy]

its over, go get some yarn and turn on the Golden Girls

 

[clarabelle]

Pop Daddy -I thought it would be Matlock!
Seriously -It is just cultural norms. I sure it was not meant as an insult.
I never think of New Orleans as being part of "Southern Culture"
I think of New Orleans as special and having its culture a real mix of influences.

Aprilgail -it is certanly not sarcastic here. Is it in NY?

 

[Laura]

I got called ma'am by a customer over the summer. She was standing right in front of me. I was 19 at the time . Oh and did I mention that most people think I'm younger than I am?

Edit: This happened in New ENgland, where ma'am is used on older people.

I worked as a cashier in college, and OLDER customers would call me ma'am. I also look a bit younger than I am.

 

[aprilgail2]

Aprilgail -it is certanly not sarcastic here. Is it in NY?

oh yea, that is so NOT used here. When and if you said it you would salute the person and say it sarcastically like you were saluting in the army like the person was being really bossy you would throw them a "yes ma'am " and salute LOL...

 

[Serena]

I'm not in the south, but it's pretty normal here to be called ma'am, or miss ___ out of courtesy.

 

[lovemygoofy]

The crazy person who said that to you was probably from the south and should not be taken seriously. I am originally from new york- you don't call people maa'm unless you are TRYING to make someone feel old. then I moved to South Carolina and EVERYONE is Ma'am here. I see women talking to 4 year olds calling them Ma'am. It freaked me out at first, but then you start doing it too. Like y'all. I say that now too.
And if they aren't ma'am, its Miss First Name- as in, Miss Sara or Miss Linda. Nobody is just Sara or Linda, and you never respond to a question without Ma'am- unless you're a rude yankee. these people are so weird. The boys call their fathers 'sir' all the time.(we only did that if we were in BIG trouble)
And it's not real sweet tea unless its 2 parts sugar/1 part tea and the sugar is added while the tea is still brewing. If you tell as southerner to just add sugar to their tea to make it sweet , they just laugh at you- the way you laugh at a child with an imaginary friend.
I just go, "ppfhff- WHATEVER, LADY"

I was raised this way and my mama or my gran would get me if I didn't say Yes, Ma'am or No, Sir. It's also a sign of respect to call someone Miss Tina or whatever. I have some older(like my 80 year old granny older) ladies that look out for Matt and I. As they aren't family but still considered friends, they are given the title Miss Jane because of respect. I was always taught this and will always use it but I've heard several people including my inlaws think I'm being sarcastic when I use Ma'am or Sir.

Being married to the army, I'm practically Ma'amed to death by all Matt's soldiers and superiors. They do it because thats they way they were trained but I hate seeing some 19 year old calling me Ma'am. I keep searching for the grey hairs or my walker the way they talk to me