Our southern grandmother imprinted us with clever little sayings such as, "It's so good it will make you smack your grandmammy!"
Yeah, that good.
My mother's nickname was Pinky and her brother was Giemo. My dad somehow escaped the nickname phenom. Perhaps because he was orphaned at a young age and raised by an uncle who saw the boys as built-in field hands.
My grandmother's names for my sisters were actually their real names, usually reserved by my mom for times when you were REALLY in trouble, Cynthia and Pamela. My brother was Bob-O-Link. Well, you can guess what his name was.
Me? Well, I was the odd man out because my grandmother called me Grace. Yep, Grace. Can you guess why? She told me she'd never met another person who could tie a throw rug in knots in one pass. She was right. There's not a rug that I pass over that doesn't look like a tornado has hit it when I get to the other side. Certainly I have a problem picking my feet up.
But rugs are not my only problem. Basically I am not a telephone person. I do not make phone calls to chat, my calls are mostly getting down to business calls. It is for this reason that my family is fearful when they see a phone call coming in from me because usually it means a trip to the emergency room. Yes, I'm a small accident waiting to happen.
My minor accidents are the thing of legends. A half inch of wooden and lead pencil imbedded in the bottom of my foot. Don't ask. If you've been around here for awhile you'll remember my encounter with a gasoline explosion. Here's my answer to the ER doctor:
"I plead the Fifth Amendment on whether an accelerant was involved."
He knew.
I should have registered at the ER desk as Grace.
How about you? Does your family members have nicknames?
12 comments:
Suzanne and Grace: two of my favourite names. Grace was my mom's name.
Her father, my grandpa, used to give nicknames to his granddaughters. Not me: everyone in the family calls me Kathy and the closest I've ever come to a nickname is Kate, Katrinka, etc from various friends.
But the younger ones got old-fashioned nicknames like "Hilda" when they were just toddlers. Grandpa was the only one who called them by these nicknames and they loved it.
My father in law was good at the nickname game. Our daughter with curly hair was Fuzzy Head. Our son that just couldn't sit still was "Wormy". I was called "There- sa" cause that's how you spell my name. I'd never thought of it that way. I miss him.
Thanks for the good memories!
<3 terri
I gave my daughter the nickname Grace for the same reasons, she can't walk across the room without falling. Her grandfather calls her Brooke (her middle name) and her uncle calls her Ashley B. Of the four grandkids, she's the only one with nicknames.
My Granddaughter, Cherish, was called, "Two-bit," because no matter the subject she put her two-bits in. That name was her Dad's idea. Her mom called her Cheshire - after the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.
My West Virginia relatives were all nicknamed. Charles Jr is "Mike". Janice is "Sally", Charles, Sr is "Chod". My Iowa family, not so much. Martha is Mattie. Estella is Stella. Okay. Iowa was way weak on the nicknames! lol
My mom used to call me Sis/Sissy, just as her mom used to call her (we were all the only daughters in our families). Now my youngest daughter calls her older sister Sissy, which she started all on her own.
When I was a kid, my parents had a small, country general store. My dad loved teasing all the neighbour kids who came in. Many of them were called either Fred or George by him - boy or girl. And they loved it.
My oldest daughter's name is Elizabeth. We gave her the nickname Beth from the day she was born, because it is the only nickname I like. I really, really didn't want her called Liz!
My mom used to call me Sis/Sissy, just as her mom used to call her (we were all the only daughters in our families). Now my youngest daughter calls her older sister Sissy, which she started all on her own.
When I was a kid, my parents had a small, country general store. My dad loved teasing all the neighbour kids who came in. Many of them were called either Fred or George by him - boy or girl. And they loved it.
My oldest daughter's name is Elizabeth. We gave her the nickname Beth from the day she was born, because it is the only nickname I like. I really, really didn't want her called Liz!
Your emergency room visits reminded me of when my brothers and I were young. My parents were glad they were good friends with our family doctor. My one brother had stitches in the back of his mouth, broke his nose, and a few other bumps and bruises when he was a preschooler. My brother was not one to stop what he was doing just because it might lead to pain or injury. If it looked fun, it was worth trying. Our family doctor was a family friend, and he also had a son much the same, so he understood!
My daughter got the nickname of Scooby before she was even born. We didn't want to know if it was a boy or a girl. So when people would ask what I was having, I'd tell them it was Scooby Doo. 17 years later I still call her Scooby more often than I call her by her real name of Marianne.
We have tons of nicknames in my family. Most of them are very amusing.
As far as E.R. visits go, you have my complete empathy. I've been to the E.R. so many times I should have my own honorary gurney. My first trip was the time that I broke my arm walking the dog. After that the floodgates opened and I've broken, sprained, and torn so many body parts that it's a wonder I can still walk and talk.
One time I was asked by an E.R. nurse, "Don't I know you?" and I said, "Well, if you've worked here any amount of time at all, I'm sure we've crossed paths." My five foot tall body is a road map of scars.
Life is so entertaining! :)
LOL. My nickname was/is "Sis", I got it from my daddy. Here are some others:
Pudger/Queenie (daughter Jane; when she was young, her daddy called her pudger; then as she got older, we did, and still do call her "Queenie".
Bubba-son Matthew
"Sir Todd", or Corn-husband Todd (He is called Corn b/c he looks like he was corn-fed, his co-workers gave him that monikor.
Oh nicknames! My dad was famous for issuing nicknames. Mine was (and still is) Yogi. From the days when Yogi bear was on TV. I guess it's better than it could have been because lore has it that I used to sit in my walker as a baby and start bouncing around when a Mr. Clean commercial would come on TV!
The funniest one that I can think of though is my dad had a friend who was a plumber and he called him...are you ready.....Leaky Pipe! LOL!!
Sorry but I think the nickname Grace is just a bit unkind. Not however so unkind at the nickname of a man in my home community given by his sister. Swear to God everyone knew him at "Poopy". Other than that not too many nicknames growing up in the midwest. Many more here in the south.
Marilyn from Norfolk
Post a Comment