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| Mom and Dad, with Pimple Pants, Rusty, Jerry and Bert |
Why, then, do they go to such lengths to never use those names?
My name is Diane. Mom loved that name, so, when I made my appearance, she was happy I was a girl. Now she could use it. Let's face it, 'Diane' for a boy just doesn't fit quite as well. But that's another story.
As a second name, she chose Louise, after my Aunt Louise. A really, really, sweet lady.
So, Diane Louise.
Works for me.
I called myself Tony. I'm not sure why.
My Mom's working name for me, however, was 'Pixie'.
?????
Occasionally, she would vary it.
“Oh, here's my little Pixie-Girl.”
Or, “What do you want, Sweet-Little-Pixie?”
I think it might have had something to do with my size.
Okay I know that, looking at me now, one would find this hard to believe, but, at one time, I was under height. And definitely under-weight.
Those were the days.
Sigh.
Moving on . . .
Later, when I was nine, I got my hair cut. Really short.
I loved it.
So did my Dad.
He changed my name to 'Mike'. I'm almost sure it had nothing to do with our dog. He of the same name.
Mom was horrified. “Mark! She has a perfectly good name. Use it!”
I know he was as bewildered as me. Ummm . . . which name? Diane? Louise? Pixie? Tony?
Are you beginning to see why I'm such a confused person?
So, 'Louie' I became.
????? again.
Mom retaliated by calling me, 'Diane'. For the first time in my life.
Then, my brother, George, got into the game.
His name for me was Bert.
Because.
Coming from someone whom Dad called 'Dard', and Jerry called 'Pimple Pants', I wasn't worried.
Rusty, or Chris as she had been christened, had no opinion.
Neither did Blair . . . er, 'Bare Blue', or 'The Great Root Blair'. Of course he was only two, so he could be excused.
And Anita was a baby. She was 'Sweetheart' or 'Sister'. One day to be known as 'Nutty Nita'.
Jerome got off easy.
Actually, that's a story in itself. He was always, 'Jerry' to everyone. Except when Mom got angry.
Then, he became Jerome Allen, or worse, Jerome Allen Stringam.
All the 'angry' names, as they are truly known.
But I've wandered from the point.
Which was me.
So, I've been through Diane, Louise, Tony, Pixie, Mike, Louie and Bert.
Now, my Honeybunny (don't ask) calls me, Honey. And my kids call me Mom.
Or grandma.
The best names of all.
I can relate to this well written, witty tale of names. Honey is the very best name, closely followed by Mom and Granny.
ReplyDeleteI SO agree! :)
DeleteGreat names all. I had a nickname my father gave me which was fun and funny until some company came out with a dog food by that name, then not so much.
ReplyDeleteOooh! Now I'm intrigued. Care to share some details? ;)
DeleteSo cute. I love Pixie. I'm sure it suits you better than Mike! The only nickname I had ever had was Law, from my grandmother. Nicknames are fun.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought nicknames were a sure sign of affection. They were in my world. Well...except for Pimple Pants. Not quite sure where that came from... :)
DeleteI was only called by my first name when I was in a HEAP of trouble. It obviously affected me - these days I don't use my full name for ANYTHING, and went to some pains to get a passport in the abbreviated version.
ReplyDeleteWow. Sounds like a simple, elegant solution. My SIL got her name legally changed for exactly the same reason!
DeleteThat is a loooooong string of names! I'm rather wistful here, to tell the truth - I had my given name and a shortened version of it, and that was all. I missed out on the fun! (It WAS fun, wasn't it? :))
ReplyDeleteIt totally was fun! I wish my mom were around now to use her name. And my dad, too, for that matter. My best friend growing up and into college shared your name. I used the shortened version. Her parents had affectionate terms but I can't, for the life of me, remember what they were! Rats. Now I'll just have to come up with one of my own... ;)
DeleteAll of us had family nick names. I was grandfather because I was the oldest and Dad gave me that one. My next brother was Merce. My third brother was Ditter and My 4 th brother got Dave. I think most families have family names.
ReplyDeleteI love this, Red! Family nicknames are so special! My Husby's family were all 'Si'. Si1, Si2, Si3, etc. Not really sure where that came from...
DeleteWhen I was five or six my Dad called me Flossie-few-clothes, because apparently I often complained of having nothing to wear whenever my favourite dress was in the wash.
ReplyDeleteTHAT is SO Cute!!! I love it!
DeleteAs i tell my children, i gave them wear well in the wash and don't fade names that they don't have to be embarrassed over or spell a dozen times and still have people do it wrong. Then i told them if they wanted a weird nickname to let their friends give it to them.
ReplyDeleteThey have all thanked me for that approach.
Gigi (for GranGran) is the best name i have.
Now that is perfect! Friends tend to give them names anyways. We named our third son Robin Duff. We called him 'Duff' at home, but Robin in public. As a teenager, he went straight to Duff. His friends thought it was so cool. He's Duff to this day.
ReplyDelete