We refer to each other as Mommy and Daddy sometimes when talking for the cats, but that’s just to be funny.
John Lennon called Yoko Ono “Mother.” (His own mum died when he was 14.) He even called her Mother when he talked about having sex with her during some interview he did. I haven’t heard that interview, but I did once encounter a guy online who had. He hated John Lennon because “He was a sick fuck who screwed his own mother! I heard the recording of him talking about it! It was nasty!”
I’m ashamed of this because I sound like a freak but since my son was of speaking age I have been calling my mum and dad… Grandma and Poppa. It wasn’t deliberate, it started through that mumsy way of talking to kids “ask Grandma is she wants to blah blah blah” and became a sad habit.
I am trying to stop. Well not really…I like making my mum feel old (and should anyone chastise me about that she tells me FREQUENTLY how old she feels having a 40 year old daughter and I’m ONLY 37!)
I am pretty sure my wife would beat the ever living crap out of me if I called her “mama” or “mother”, or any variation thereof. Similarly, she quite early in our relationship found out how to completely turn me off: just call me daddy. In her defense, she was only joking, and doesn’t do it anymore.
I had a girl, in a fit, say “you’remydaddyyou’remydaddyyou’remydaddy!” It wasn’t the hottest thing ever, but it was kind of neat and a bit of an ego booster. My brother thought it was absolutely the grossest thing he had ever heard.
I told him it wasn’t like she was screaming “You are my biological father.”
My great-grandparents called each other “Ma” and “Pa.” They also spoke to each other in a God awful Swiss dialect when they did not want the rest of us to understand. It strikes me as very old fashion and very much an earmark of 19th Century European immigrants. Great Grandma remembered the smoke from the Chicago fire covering South Wisconsin. Great Grandpa immigrated as an eleven year old in the early 1880s.
Like others who’ve posted, hubby and I refer to each other as “Pop” and “Mom” when talking to the kids (I don’t know; go ask Pop), but never to each other. I understand why some couples do it, but we never have.
On a related note, I have a friend who has two kids, a boy and a girl. Once the girl was born (she’s younger) they started referring to the kids as “brother” and “sister”. They’ve done it so long that that’s how they refer to the kids most of the time now, even when addressing the kids directly (“Brother, did you put all your school books in your book bag?”). I think it’s weird.
My parents-in-law do this all the time - to each other’s faces. She’ll ask Keith, “Daddy, get me a xxxx.” Now that I think about it, Keith doesn’t call her “Mother” quite as often as she calls him “Daddy.” But he still does it.
I don’t care for it, personally, but whatever works for them. If Mr. Snicks calls me “mom” or some variation thereof, there’ll be trouble. Reverse the situations, and the same’s for me, too.
Snicks
My husband and I refer to one another as Mom and Dad when discussing the kids; he has also addressed me as “Momma”, and “Mamacita” since the kids were born. He’s used “Hey, hot Momma” as a greeting since we were dating . It’s the vernacular of our youth.
I don’t remember my parents ever doing that, and I’m single w/ no kids so you’d think I’d have nothing to add here.
However, I have a customer who calls me “Mother.” I think it’s odd, but it doesn’t bother me (could be worse). I have no idea what he calls his wife to her face, but when speaking about her it’s “the missus.” This guy is just 31 years old.
He also once told me that the only two women he never argues with are his wife and me (I’m the keeper of the whiskey). I’ve actually heard him argue with his mother on the phone, but true to his word, I’ve never heard him argue with his wife and he’s never argued with me.
My grandmother does this to my grandfather (maternal), but oddly, it isn’t reciprocated. He refers to her and talks to her using her real name; and while half the time she uses his name, the other half she calls him “Dad.” And not in the third person, either, as in talking about him with her daughter (my mother); no, talking to him directly, as in calling down to the beach from the deck, “Hey Dad! Telephone!” or whatever.
I never really thought about how bizarre this is until just now. Hmmm.
My parents referred to each other as “Mommy” and “Daddy” (or often “Mother” and “Father”) when they were around us or talking to us, as in, “Your Mother wants you to wash the dishes.” However, my mom always called my dad by his first name when directly talking to him. “Al, can you buy some cat food?” (His name was Al.)
My dad, however, never called my mom anything other than “your mother.” I don’t know what he called her when they were by themselves, but it was rare for me to ever hear him call her by her given name. He somehow always avoided doing it. He never did call her “Mother” or “Mommy” though—that was only for our benefit.
We have three dogs and two cats. When we first got a dog, she was definitely my husband’s dog. She adored him. I talked to the dog, referring to my husband as “Daddy”, and he said “I am not no damn dog’s daddy!” Of course, I kept it up.
One of the two cats who allow us to live in their home can make a vocalization which sounds like “Mama”. She did this accidentally around me once, and I praised her and repeated the word back to her. She did it again, and got more praise. She’s a very smart, very vocal cat. Well, she’s Siamese, so that’s pretty much a breed trait. Now, if she wants any sort of attention, she’ll say Mama to the nearest human, male or female. In her furry little mind, it means “I want human food, or to be played with, or some loving attention.” She’ll also say it if she’s getting petted, in which case I tell her that yes, I’m her mama and she’s my kitty.
My husband says that he’s not any damn cat’s mama, either. This doesn’t stop her from calling him Mama and trying to Make Kittens with him. She’s been spayed, but she apparently thinks that true love conquers all, and she keeps trying to seduce him.
My dad says “mama” and “daddy”, but not when referring to my mom or his parents. He calls my mom by her name or honey or he says “your mom” when he’s talking about her. However, he says “mama” or “daddy” when he’s talking to other people. He might say “Daddy, hand me the remote.” The scary part is that I’ve noticed that it has rubbed off on me. I’ve caught myself saying things like that to my nieces or nephews.
Oh, and I call my older brother “brother” when I’m addressing him. I have two sisters and a younger brother, but I call them by their names. I admit it. I’m a freak!
(and should anyone chastise me about that she tells me FREQUENTLY how old she feels having a 40 year old daughter and I’m ONLY 37!)