Shorty, cutie, lovebug, tornado, cowboy, princess, firecracker, lefty…

A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet…

I admit it, I have a problem… I am one of those people that takes the names of people I love and changes them. I do not know how or when this started but almost no one I interact with on a daily basis has their “proper” name in my world. I don’t think I could stop if I tried! My dad was called “Juny” growing up because he was named after his father and was a junior. My husband tells me that he was “Mad-Dog-Don” as a child because he was grumpy when he was hungry! I was “Panda” with my sisters when I was 4 years old and still am on my Valentine card from my husband 40 years later. Even though my son has politely asked me to refrain from using his nickname while screaming when he rounds the track for his final lap, I cannot help yelling, “Go Noodle Go”! Our daughter has gone from “Principessa”, to “Princess”, and now to “Princi” for short! I even named one of my kid’s teachers “Mrs. Poopy Pants” in third grade because she was such a miserable person (and P.S. the name stuck 😉 )! My mom is now “Gramseeee”, and yes we have to write out all those “eeee”‘s whenever we send her anything! One of my friends went from “Eileen”, to “Eileen the Queen” and now I just call her “Queen”, she is even in my phone contacts under “Queen”! Did you know that the term nickname comes from Greek or Roman origin meaning “term of endearment”? They are used in songs, books, and movies to lend a familiarity to the person or subject. I actually have a slew of nicknames that I go by and I wouldn’t trade a single one. When I look at the special names that I answer to, aside from my given name, they inevitably make me smile. Some of them have been with me since before I even entered nursery school, some from friends who call me by my maiden name, some come from shared experiences that we use to remember a funny thing that happened, but all of them are because of my connection with these friends and loved ones that have enriched my life! When I throw out a nickname to someone, it has been grown out of affection, respect, commonality, closeness. You are part of my inner circle, you are a part of my life that I share with a fond memory. You are called a loving variation of husband, daughter, son, friend, sister, parent. Some might call it a nickname, a love name, a pet name…  I just call it BLESSED!