Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Friday, September 27, 2019

Named

Mom and Dad, with Pimple Pants, Rusty, Jerry and Bert
Parents put a lot of thought and even prayer into the naming of their offspring.
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.

16 comments:

  1. I can relate to this well written, witty tale of names. Honey is the very best name, closely followed by Mom and Granny.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh! Now I'm intrigued. Care to share some details? ;)

      Delete
  3. So 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'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... :)

      Delete
  4. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow. Sounds like a simple, elegant solution. My SIL got her name legally changed for exactly the same reason!

      Delete
  5. That 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? :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It 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... ;)

      Delete
  6. All 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I 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...

      Delete
  7. When 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.

    ReplyDelete
  8. As 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.

    They have all thanked me for that approach.

    Gigi (for GranGran) is the best name i have.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 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

Thank you for visiting! Drop by again!

Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!

Real Estates: All Murders Included in the Price!
My FIRST murder mystery!

Blessed by a Curse

Blessed by a Curse
My very first Medieval Romance!

God's Tree

God's Tree
For the Children

Third in the series

Third in the series
Deborah. Fugitive of Faith

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael

The Long-Awaited Sequel to Daughter of Ishmael
A House Divided is now available at all fine bookstores and on Amazon.com and .ca!

Daughter of Ishmael

Daughter of Ishmael
Now available at Amazon.com and .ca and Chapters.ca and other fine bookstores.

Romance still wins!

Romance still wins!
First romance in a decade!

Hosts: Your Room's Ready

Hosts: Your Room's Ready
A fun romp through the world's most haunted hotel!

Hugs, Delivered.

Compass Book Ratings

Compass Book Ratings

Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!

My Granddaughter is Carrying on the Legacy!
New Tween Novel!

Gnome for Christmas

Gnome for Christmas
The newest in my Christmas Series

SnowMan

SnowMan
A heart warming story of love and sacrifice.

Translate

My novel, Carving Angels

My novel, Carving Angels
Read it! You know you want to!

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic

My Second Novel: Kris Kringle's Magic
What could be better than a second Christmas story?!

Join me on Maven

Connect with me on Maven

Essence

Essence
A scientist and his son struggle to keep their earth-shattering discovery out of the wrong hands.

Essence: A Second Dose

Essence: A Second Dose
Captured and imprisoned, a scientist and his son use their amazing discovery to foil evil plans.

Looking for a Great Read?

E-Books by Diane Stringam Tolley
Available from Smashwords.com

The Babysitter

The Babysitter
A baby-kidnapping ring has its eye on J'Aime and her tiny niece.

Melissa

Melissa
Haunted by her past, Melissa must carve a future. Without Cain.

Devon

Devon
Following tragedy, Devon retreats to the solitude of the prairie. Until a girl is dropped in his lap.

Pearl, Why You Little...

Pearl, Why You Little...
Everyone should spend a little time with Pearl!

The Marketing Mentress

The Marketing Mentress
Building solid relationships with podcast and LinkedIn marketing

Coffee Row

Coffee Row
My Big Brother's Stories

Better Blogger Network

Semper Fidelis

Semper Fidelis
I've been given an award!!!

The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award
My good friend and Amazing Blogger, Marcia of Menopausal Mother awarded me . . .

Irresistibly Sweet Award

Irresistibly Sweet Award
Delores, my good friend from The Feathered Nest, has nominated me!

Sunshine Award!!!

Sunshine Award!!!
My good friend Red from Oz has nominated me!!!

My very own Humorous Blogger Award From Delores at The Feathered Nest!

Be Courageous!


Grab and Add!

Search This Blog

Ghost of the Overlook

Ghost of the Overlook
Need a fright?