<p>we have a friend ( who used to be on a the 2nd string x-country olympic team) who took his baby in a backpack practically in a blizzard ( well it was too cold for me) telemarking
he still is up before breakfast to get the first run of the day.
( my baby wouldn’t leave her hat or mittens on- so she didn’t even get to go out much until she did- if mom is cold- you wear a hat!)</p>
<p>Well, my husband used to ski with our babies (each in her own time) in a baby backpack on his back. </p>
<p>For dke… I thought of you tonight with all this hunting talk (I’m truly not into hunting) because we had dinner over one of my husband’s friend’s houses and he served venison from a deer he shot by his house. I never have that but what a coincidence with all this hunting talk!</p>
<p>Same rule in our home–if mom OR dad are cold, everyone bundles up. <grin> At my folks house, they just shut all the windows & doors tto keep the cold out & wear t-shirts & shorts. (Hey, it can drop to the 60s in HI.)</grin></p>
<p>Quote:
“I live in Northern Florida in a very “exclusive” (I hate that word but that’s the way they refer to it) beachfront community. (not by choice, either…I’m from the new york area originally…this is all a culture shock to me)”</p>
<p>Ditto on both counts. This thread makes perfect sense to me. I’ve lived it for the past decade. Trust me when I say it doesn’t EVER get better. The stories I could tell…</p>
<p>Now that our kids have left (#1 son married and recently relocated to the Mountain West and #2 son a junior in college in LA planning on grad school), we’re outta here. Can’t be soon enough to suit me. I need to get back to civilization.</p>
<p>MM-</p>
<p>p.s. <em>Been there, done that</em> with the pool thing. But I have to ask: Have you been in a public-school classroom where the teacher breaks out in evangelical-style prayer? sat in on a school district meeting where the administrators take turns reading from scripture? If not yet, give it time…</p>
<p>up absolutely did the right thing. I don’t think kids need to hunt, but if they’re going to one kid, one adult should be the ratio.</p>
<p>We put our kids in a secular private school with alot of int’l corporate relo types specifically because we wanted them to be around a less regional crowd, and to a certain extent, that’s held true. But there will always be this other type as long as we’re here. There was praying before hoops at the Y. I turned to H and asked him what God had to do with it and he reminded me that they were at the Young Men’s Christian Assn. so I guess that’s why. The only thing that i’ve noticed that I’m not crazy about is that certain teachers who grew up around here insist that my kids do the “yes ma’am” “no, sir” business. I’m fine with “yes please” and “no thank you” and in the big scheme I get so tired of bucking the trends around here that I take a “when in Rome” attitude towards that.</p>
<p>dke…well, I hope that the Dad who took a large group of kids into the woods to hunt…PRAYED first. He needed to. And I don’t mean praying in hopes of getting the kill. But praying that no kids were killed.</p>
<p>Soozievt, you’re so right!! Mudders Mudder, I’d sure love it if you could PM me. Sounds like we live in the same “dang” town!</p>
<p>“I get so tired of bucking the trends around here that I take a “when in Rome” attitude towards that.”</p>
<p>We escape periodically with travel. Call it mental health breaks.</p>
<p>Our kids “escaped” as soon as they could by taking advantage of the dual-enrollment option in HS. Both of them started taking college classes after 9th grade and were fully enrolled college students by 11th grade on. And our “straight-A” public HS is considered one of the best in the state. </p>
<p>On the positive side, over the years my stories of the local culture have provided endless amusement for relatives in other parts of the country. And I do believe, for what it’s worth, that our beaches are second to none for their natural beauty… at least, until the next hurricane hits. ;)</p>
<p>Edit: I have to try to figure out how to edit my profile to allow that. Would love to “talk” to you and compare notes! [Where the heck is my CS major son when I need him? Oh, yeah. He already moved! :)] This may take awhile, but I’ll try. I IM my #2 at college, but he set it up for me without leaving operating instructions. Dang.</p>
<p>We’ve told the kids that they must leave this area for college. We want to ensure that they get a different perspective. Problem is, hanging around people like the “hunting boy”, they get the idea that its not desireable to leave, that this is where the “action” is. Ho-Hum…We’re taking them to Boston this summer so they can see something different.</p>
<p>Mudder’s mudder, just click on my DKE and there’s a place there where you can send me a message.</p>
<p>dke, my sons’ taekwondo coach insists on Sir & Ma’am (his assistant is his wife) and I am fine with that. I am frankly delighted that there is an adult other than a parent that my kids have to answer to, & who makes them do pushups for infractions. :-))</p>
<p>“Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am” are expressions of respect. How can there be anything wrong with that? There’s way too little of it in the world these days, as far as I’m concerned.</p>
<p>I’m 54 and there are still times when I say “Yes, sir” (no, not sarcastically:) )</p>
<p>There was a thread on the “yes sir” etc. awhile back. I guess its all perspective. Where we’re from the kids call their teachers by their first names half the time. I’m not big on that, but the whole sir and ma’am thing is a bit too regional for us in that we’re not from here. I think that “Yes please” or “no, thank you” are respectful enough IMHO.</p>
<p>At the private school my kids attend, ALL students are to stand when an adult enters the classoom & remain standing until invited to sit. No one calls the teacher by 1st name, tho some are given fond nicknames, like “Doc” for several of the pHd faculty members. I like that the kids show respect for adults, but agree it can be tough with the “Yes, Sir or Ma’am” if you’re not used to it & not brought up with it. That doesn’t happen in our state, except with military. </p>
<p>In HI, many adults are just called “Auntie” and “Uncle,” regardless of the fact that there are no blood ties. It gets over the awkwardness of what kids call different adults when they don’t want to presume by using the 1st name but calling the adult Mr. or Ms. _____ seems too formal. (Of course, this doesn’t happen at the more formal private school, but many other places. They call the coaches “coach” or “Sensei” (Japanese for teacher) or whatever the adult requests.)</p>
<p>My oldest has never attended a school where she used an honorific for teachers or parents. Even her college she calls the profs by their first names, which can get confusing as half of the bio profs seem to be named"Steve"
At my younger daughters school where she attended 3rd-8th, virtually all the teachers went by first names, although there were 2 who were called Mrs. H or Mrs P.
Her high school, is more traditional, and teachers usually go by Mr-Q, although there is one or two teachers who prefer to be called Miss and then their first name, which kind of has a southern ring to it, but is a little less formal than being called by your last name.
I also attended a high school where I called teachers by their first names, and in that setting, I liked it, I think it made a difference.
But i will call people what they want to be called, and I expect my children to do the same.</p>
<p>I sub in a school where teachers are called by their first names, and there’s also a large contingent of students who are taught “yes, sir” and “yes, ma’am” at home–but strangely, the overall respect level of the individual student doesn’t seem to be any different. </p>
<p>When I was in high school–in a different era and place–we had a coach who wanted us to call him by his first name—at a school where this was NOT allowed. In fact, we were told to call him “Coach” or “Mr.” or “sir” by the other teachers. We got even by calling him “Coach Mr. Jim Smith Sir” every time we talked to him or about him.</p>
<p>Mudders_Mudder and dke,
I think I live fairly near both of you in Florida! We’ve had many similar experiences. My favorite was when one of the “popular” families planned a Halloween hayride for 6th graders on public streets after dark with a 16 year old new driver at the wheel of the truck and trailer! The driver was also from one of the “local royalty” families. Fortunately, I was not the only one who sid no to this one.</p>
<p>DHmom, you’re lucky that you weren’t the only one! I guess I’m just the only “un-fun Mom”! Ha! What is it about Florida and these people? (Don’t answer that!)</p>
<p>Oh, I dunno. I think you folks are all being a little too harsh on the hunting party guys. I mean, I have taken lots of kids into the woods to hunt, maybe ten or twelve at a time, and I have not had any problems.</p>
<p>Of course we were hunting for plants and things like that, but same difference! (haha - ducking and running…)</p>
<p>But seriously, dke. You should never have been made to feel uncomfortable in this situation because of this simple fact: you son is YOUR son, and when he gets hurt, you are the one who will be left with the mess. I salute you for making your choice and sticking to your guns (haha). This never should have even been an issue.</p>
<p>Also, for the guy to get upset about it just strikes me as odd, certainly not the kind of guy I’d like prowling the woods with a gun.</p>
<p>(craziness…)</p>