Here You Go, MA'AM!

Alright,

I'm not sure if anyone else in my age bracket has this issue, but I seem to notice a lot of people calling me "ma'am" lately. Does this bug anyone else? I think it was not long ago that I was being call "miss"! Is it the wedding ring that automatically makes people default to the "ma'am" intro? Just because I have a wedding ring on does not mean I have my hair in a top know and have to wear trifocals to see my receipt! I would say any public place I go, "ma'am" is used over half the time. Now, being a girl, this makes me a little self-conscious. I start thinking back to when I actually had a GRAY eyebrow (somehow I don't think I would have a blond eyebrow). I can't find any on my head yet, but perhaps someone has seen one?!? Needless to say, I have to wonder if I am looking older than I am.

All that changed two days ago! Let me give you a little info on my new job here in Indiana. It is different than a regular teaching job, since I service kids all over two different schools, and go into their classrooms to help out. I am at en elementary and a middle school, each for half a day.

I am now in the process of trying to introduce myself to these kids. At the elementary school, I can just walk up to the child, introduce myself and they're so excited to meet a teacher that they're just about ready to give me their life savings. Very easy to get the elementary kids confortable with you. I have learned I cannot take that approach with 6-8 graders. Strange as it may sound, they will not run up and hug me at the very sight of my teaching badge. So I have begun to just go into some classrooms, sit in there and observe. The other day, I was going into a 6th grade reading class. All the student desks had been moved into a circle and it was a small class, so the teacher told me I could just grab a seat in the circle while she taught.

I ended up sitting next to one of the students I will be seeing. His name is Dado (but goes by Abraham). Abraham is from the Ivory Coast and speaks French. After a minute the teacher began talking about expectations and other thrilling information students receive on the first couple days of school. Abraham keeps looking sideways at me and smiling. I'm trying to gauge when it would be a good time to introduce myself without interrupting the teacher. Suddenly, Abraham leans over to me and says, "What grade are you in?"

NOT A MA'AM AFTER ALL!!!!!! Apparently I look 12! Better than 72!