Formalities

Perhaps, like a local biologist I know, I was born in the wrong era.

For example, I am very, very fond of formality in conversation. I often cringe at how informal people are, in situations when they shouldn't be. I love period movies and dramas and books where people use formal address.(Pride & Prejudice still sits on my personal top 5.) I love court hearings for that same reason too (where even an accused murderer is called Mr. Jones). I sometimes bemoan the lack of grammatical formality in English, as opposed to the usted form in Spanish, the vous form in French, the various levels of formality in Tagalog, and even the use of the patronymic in Russian. (Just call me L------- Frederovna).

I've been very intent on raising my son to be polite and to use titles, even with the neighbors. He's already very good at using please, and thank you and excuse me. When I scold him, I require him to answer me, "Yes, Ma'am." And because I don't think my 5-year-old should call the 65-year-old British man across the street by his first name, I at least make him attach the word "Mister."

So I had to chuckle when I was thumbing through his school work for the week on Friday. He dutifully wrote his name on the sheets, but on half of them he used "Mr. N__".

What's odd is, I don't remember teaching him the abbreviation for Mister. I don't remember reading that to him or writing it out for him. But there it was, clear as day and now, apparently, part of his own identity at school.