Nicknames

Do you like nicknames? That may depend on how that nickname makes you feel inside. I tend to like them. I tend to use them, and I like it when people call me a nickname. It makes me feel like we're buddies, not just acquaintances.
I have a lot of nicknames. My friend, Denise, reminded me this morning that I have one nickname that is used only by a very select group of friends. Even though it is an awkward little nickname, I love it, because I know they love me. It's 'Weenie.' Yep. Weenie. That's what they call me. It is actually a nickname in a nickname. It is short for Charleenieweenie. I like to end my correspondence with these girlfriends by signing, "Love, Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenie." It's fun. Within our little group, who has attended the Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament together for about 25 years now, we have a lot of nicknames: 'BonBon', 'DonDon', 'Herc', 'Jannipoo',' Little Kat', and 'Beezer'. Since BonBon and Jannipoo have recently become grandmothers, I have added the names NanaBon and Nannipoo to the list.  I'm not sure if they will stick or not. Not all nicknames stick, thankfully.
When I was a child, my sister and one of our close family friends nicknamed me, 'Spill it, Drop it, Break it.' I'm glad that didn't stick. However, I have told enough people that story that it sometimes surfaces, when appropriate. It's true. I can be a klutz. (They might have added, "Lose it" to the list, for accuracy.)
Nicknames that I have had or still have: 'Charlie' (my favorite), 'Chuck' (love it), Stinker (my daddy called me this and my husband uses it...how can I not love it?), Winker (It rhymes with stinker, and it is used only by my husband, Mike,) and, the latest one: 'Char', used by my friend Tammy and any new tennis friend to whom she introduces me.  I have had my first name, Helen, used as a nickname, by Mike's best friend, Steve. He calls me this when he thinks I'm being cranky. It's much better than what he calls Mike when he thinks Mike is being cranky. Ha ha. I may have nicknames that I'm not aware of...
That brings me to the difference between nicknames we use as endearing and those we use behind someone's back. I don't have a problem with nicknaming a complete stranger, as I am trying to capture the hilariousness of the moment. Like, 'Hey, check out, 'Elvis' over there".... But I do have a problem with nicknames that are used as a private little joke that is meant to harm someone else, as in,  "Here she comes, 'Miss Brownnoser', as your co-worker is walking towards your group. Not good.
Just sayin....
Back to the endearing  names. When I was little, I called my mother 'Mommy', and my father, 'Daddy'. When I become a teenager, I changed them to 'Mom' and 'Dad', for obvious reasons. I wanted to be cool. Now that my mother is 89 years old, she is 'Mama.' And even though my father is in heaven, he is most definitely  'Daddy' again. I don't care about cool now. I just want to call them the most endearing thing possible.
I love it when my kids call me Mom or Mama. I just love to hear their voices.
My kids got nicknames early in life. I called Sean 'Sean Bear' for a lot of reasons. I love teddy bears, for one. He loved Care Bears for another. (Sorry, Sean...the hazards of having a blogging mother!) I still call him Sean Bear, and he is fine with it, because he knows it's a term of endearment. Now that he is in law school, I sometimes refer to him as, 'Judge'. Not that he is opinionated, or anything... (Side note: Sean has now spent one third of his life in the Chicago area, and is a very passionate Chicago Bears fan.)
Geoff was a very active child. He bounced and jumped at every opportunity, reminding me of a kangaroo. Thus the nickname, 'Geofferoo', which was quickly shortened most of the time to, simply, 'Roo.' His name is actually, Geoffrey, which is what he was called until he was fourteen, at which time he gave himself the nickname, 'Geoff'.' We honored it, and that is what everyone calls him now. He chose to become our protector and has since spent eleven months in Afghanistan, so now I sometimes just call him, 'Hero.' I can get by with that, because he would never see himself as such.
Mike is my husband and his real name is Michael. He likes Mike better, but he doesn't mind when I call him Michael. I sometimes call him, 'Mikey,' but he isn't much in for nicknames. Some people aren't. If you are female, though,  he will likely call you, 'Hun', at some point, which means he likes you, so please don't get all feminist on him and be offended, for heaven's sake.
The member of our family with the most nicknames by far is our little dog, Rudy. He is a pomeranian, and he's the fluffiest, most animated, intelligent, and needy dog we have ever had. We got him from the Animal Rescue Foundation, who had named him, 'Rascal.' We changed it immediately to Rudy, but I call him a lot of things: 'Wiggidy-Wag', 'Fluffty-Puff', 'Cutie-Patootie', 'Rudy-Rude', 'McRudy', 'Bugaboo','Boomer-Spooner',  and others. While we are gone this week, we have a fun, energetic, young lady staying at the house with Rudy. She has given him a new nickname, 'Fizgig', after a character in a fantasy movie by Jim Henson called, 'The Dark Crystal.' She sent me a video clip of this little character and I laughed out loud.
A text from her yesterday: Squirrel-1, Fizgig-0.
Hilarious.

Love,
Charlene

a.k.a., Charlie, Chuck, Weenie, Helen, Char, Winker, Stinker, or Spill-it-Drop-it-Break-it