My name is...

I watched an episode on momversation the other day regarding the issue of what you prefer to be called by kids. Mr. and Mrs. or by your first name? I recently have found myself in this situation with my friends kids getting to that age where they talk to and address me frequently. I was even asked while on vacation this exact question. Would I prefer their son call me Miss Rachel or Mrs. Briggs? Um, well...

Here is where I am at a cross roads. Before I became a mother I never thought about it much. My friends daughter always called us Miss or Mr. (and our first name). I thought it was cute. Now used to being called Miss Rachel I get why they make their kids address adults in this way. It's a sign of respect. Now that I am a mom myself, I actually prefer that I be addressed as Miss Rachel as opposed to just Rachel. Hearing a two year old (especially my son) call me by my first name is awkward, annoying and just wrong. I am a/your mother, an adult, and feel I should be treated as such.

However, (and this is a big HOWEVER) upon hearing Mrs. Briggs I think, is my mother in law here? Strange I know. After all I am married and was introduced as Mrs. Briggs at my reception. And when it comes to filling out paperwork I always use the prefix Mrs. But at only 30 years, I don't see myself as being that old. For me, Mrs. Briggs holds the uber-mature status of those the age of my parents and grandparents. Not the young, hip, woman I have convinced myself I am. I can't see myself as this overly mature adult. I'm not there yet. Though according to my husband I'm not as young nor do I look as young as I think do. OK, I'm still not there yet.

I always had a hard time calling my friends parents by their first names. Prefix or not. It seemed odd and wrong. They were waaaay older than me and adults. Not my friends but my elders and deserving that respect. Even today, I have a hard time calling my son's pediatrician anything other than Dr. (last name) even though our sons and his wife and I are close friends. We attend birthday parties at each other's houses, have had numerous play dates, yet for some reason it feels awkward to call him by his first name (I feel like giggling as if I'm 10 and got away with something I shouldn't have).

So yeah. I prefer Miss Rachel. For the time being. Years from now when my kids are well into elementary, intermediate and definitely high school I'll probably want to be called Mrs. Briggs. Because then I'll be well into my 30's and even 40's. YIKES! And maybe, just maybe then I'll actually feel older and more mature. Like the parents/adults I grew up emulating.