Her question, “Papa, why do call Mimi ‘Hon’?” made me realize how kids pick up on things we don’t even think about. It began with Honey, of course, and you can partly tell our age by this term of endearment which by now is just my name. Still sweet, though. I began to think about all the names I answer to.I am named after my two grandmothers, Anna and Liese. As a young girl I was Annie. School registration changed that, but at home I remained Annie. To confuse the matter, soon after high school, I tried changing to Lisa, which is part of the reason a number of nieces call me aunt Lisa. In the end I decided to keep my real name which, when my Mom calls me, has a definite short "e" at the end and the "s" sounds more like a "z", but generally the "s" is soft and the "e" is silent. Nieces and nephews on my side of the family call me auntie or aunt Anneliese and the ones who grew up in German speaking homes call me Tante Anneliese.
I remember when I first was referred to as "Mrs" on a regular basis. It was when I was a parent helper at school. As a 28 year old, it felt strange, but then, they couldn't all call me Mom.
Even "Mom" took on new angles when the kids married. Now, about seven years ago I began answering to Grammy and a few years later Mimi was added to the list by Natalie. Those are the sweetest names, although it's getting hard to keep track of who calls me what. So if I call you up and say, "Hey, it's me," you know why!
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Oh - and I can't let this post go by today without wishing my only sister, Monika, a very happy Birthday! Enjoy being 40-something for just one more year!
8 comments:
Thanks for the b-day wish. And, yes, the names we answer to. I had been a mom for about 10 years when it hit me that I didn't seem to have a name anymore. I grew up being the daughter of... to people from church,sister of...when I was in school,became the wife of..., and the mother of...as an adult. I made more of a point of intruducing myself as Monika after that. I am now proud to be "oma" but I still prefer my kids to call me "mom" (Note to my kids who sang "Happy birthday dear oma")
Very interesting! My story would be almost as long! I just might work on that for a post. Thanks for the idea.
Wow, Anneliese, I just read your blog again today, because I was going thru my 'favorites' and deleting alot of stuff I don't look up anymore. Your blog was one item in that list, so I thought I'd check it before I deleted it. (Well, I won't delete it!!! We have alot in common!)
So I found that video of the adoption of Haitian children, and have just dried my tears!! I'm glad I checked this out!!
I was born and raised in Abbotsford, married and moved to Cranbrook, BC, then joined Youth With A Mission and have now moved to Colorado!! It's been an exciting journey!! Three of our 5 kids are married and I have 5 grandchildren. Since we didn't carry on the tradition of speaking German much, I'm not really Oma to anyone, but I like that name, too!
My blog is Meadow in Montrose, so you can check me out sometime. :) Blessings!
Interesting how your name has changed and adapted. We've always called my sister "Anneliese" in German, but on her birth certificate it's Anne Louise because my mom's sister said the German version wouldn't be suitable here in Canada. Ha!
I love your name, Mom. "Anneliese" is one of the most beautiful names ever, I think.
My name is quite a secret here because I am often referred to as "Mama Tehya" or "Ibu" (Mrs.). So when people call me "Jules" or "Jule" I feel especially treasured.
I love to hear people talk about their own names. It's such a seemingly small but important part of who we are. I was born Kathleen, but have been called Kathy most of my life. "Chatty Kathy" was one variation. :-) Then when I went to college, my name was shortened to "Kat", and you can tell who knows me from college when I hear that name. These days, I'm mostly "Mom" and I think I like that name best!
That's a great post on names...Up here on the ski hill, I told my kids to just call me MARG, because everyone is referred to mom or dad!!!
I love to hear those specials calls from my little ones. If you can't say Oma , then Ama will do also.
I also have a Tante Liese, who passed on, but has left me a fantastic recipe to post in the future. Names are important..
I think your name is very pretty, Anneliese... it suits you so well... as do the other names that have been given you because you are 'special'.
My favorite name (and I've had several) is Nanna - by my two granddaughters!
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