I’ve realized something interesting recently involving the growth, change and evolution of my children. I remember when they were very small and naturally struggled to form certain sounds making it difficult for them to properly pronounce some words and even some names. Their struggle brought about nicknames like “Mammy” for Grammy, “Papa” for Grandpa and “Bubbu” for Brother.
Sadly those lovable terms of endearment not only did not last but around the time that they became teenagers, the mere mention of such pet names became forbidden for fear that they may be picked on by their peers if any of them ever caught wind of it.
However, once all my children became adults even though those old nicknames did not return to my surprise they seem to adopt new ones. One day my son came into the house and said where’s my “Dadeo and Momeo?” And just recently my daughter came into the house and asked “How are you Momma?” And she even texted me later “Thank you Momma!”
I guess now that my children are adults they are less concerned with peer pressure and feel more free to express their feelings of endearment without restrictions and I couldn’t be more happy to be the recipient of such names of affection as it’s like hearing “I wuv you Mommy” after not knowing if you would ever hear it again.
My two granddaughters called me papa from the time they could talk until I left Colorado when they were about 6 and 7 years old. They came out to visit me last week, now 18 and 19, and still call me papa. It is so heartwarming to hear that.
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