EJG's been Bonehead in our family for as long as I can remember. Maybe it started the time he locked the keys in his parents' running car when picking me up at the Long Island Railroad Station. That nickname is more than 20 years old. Sometimes we shorten it to the nickname for the nickname and we just call him Bone. IMG has had a few different names. It was pumpkin (pronounced punkin') and sunshine when she was smaller and sunnier. Princess fell out of fashion because she took that one a bit too much to heart. Lately she's My Monkey based on her uncanny ability to simulate a primate's face and behaviors. Even the pets have pet names in this house. Gretel is her legal name, but calling for Grets will get the job done, especially when standing near the pantry with the cat treats. Hansel isn't smart enough answer to any name, so why not mix it up a little? Sometimes he's Hansile or Hansicle. In a rush it's simply H. Growing up we were all about the nicknames: Judith to Judy to Jude, Deborah to Deb to D (but never Debbie), Natalie to Nat…you get the idea. We all use these nicknames still. Having dinner with my mom a couple of years ago, her cell phone rang in her purse, and I grabbed it to answer for her. The caller I.D. read "N." We laugh about that still, but I wonder, was it the comfort of familiarity or her difficulty in programming her phone that led to the abbreviation ?
“You are what I never knew I always wanted”
12 years ago
2 comments:
My father and I share the same first name so I've always been "Little". In high school and college, and now in the blogosphere, I was LJ. I used to introduce MJ to my family as Megan until my grandmother called her that one day, and then all of a sudden the joke wasn't funny anymore.
I posted a great comment here three days ago while balancing a baby on my hip. It got lost somehow and it's taken me this long to get back.
Mr. Kitty had lots of nicknames--Boogerbear, Senor Gato... .On breezy, spring days like this, we miss him. Sorry, now I've hijacked your post.
And this comment goes on and on. My nickname given on the first day of seventh grade on the bus: Chuck. Because I evidently resembled a chipmunk. Thanks. It stuck for too long.
Classic post. Thanks for sharing.
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