“My New Yorker grandmother and aunts are spinning in their graves.”
Yes, yes they are. Family story, years ago when I was a kid there was a funeral. People were traveling from various places and evidently there was some complaining about who was where, when, etc. on the part of the older folks.
My brother overheard one elderly aunt say to another: at least you don’t have to worry about [jocon’s mom] she’ll have those kids here on time and dressed correctly.
As a New Yorker she’d’ve died to do otherwise.
Dignity and order.
Like the broken window theory.
Sounds like you had the same kind of mother I had. All nine of us went to school, church, wherever properly attired, and our good manners went with us.
I tried to raise my 4 the same way.