Did you ever stop to think about all the names you are called? Right...most of you have more important things that occupy your minds and your time. Such is the life of a SAHM....eating chips and dip...watching marathons of ANTM...pondering the ridiculous. I guess I could better spend my mental energy contemplating world politics, the global economy or the vanishing polar ice caps. Good grief...that last sentence gave me a headache! See...that's what happens when you think too hard about hard stuff! Oy! I find it to be much less stressful and more enjoyable to consider things of a more humorous nature. I'll leave the political, economical and environmental musings to those who actually enjoy such things.
Michelle, Michelle Angelic (pronounced "Angelique"...my mama watched "Dark Shadows." Don't know why she altered the spelling...you'll have to ask her), Mickey, Mickers, Shelby, Punkin, Mrs. Michelle, Mrs. Snark, Chelle, Aunt Shelby, 2L, 2L-er, Mommy, Mama, Mother (Y1 tends to call me this when he's annoyed because he knows it annoys me), Mitzy-Bitsy, Trouble, Dolly, Sassy. Those are my names. And...yes...there's an explanation for each one.....lucky for you, I'm in the mood for 'splaining:)
Michelle Angelic is the name my parents gave me. I'm told that Mama actually wanted to call me "Christmas Snow." With my birthday being six days before Christmas, I guess she thought I needed a name reflective of the holiday season. Seriously....Christmas Snow? You do know that is the name of Suzanne Somers' character on the old sitcom "Three's Company?" Can you imagine a life being compared to that ding bat? Sheesh! Anyway, thank GOD Michelle Angelic won. It was 1970...the Beatles recorded their ode to Michelle five years earlier, so maybe that's why my folks chose that to be my first name. The Beatles had a profound impact on everything else; it stands to reason. I'll even bet there was a spike for boys named John, Paul, George and Richard (that was Ringo's given name)! There was a girl who grew up in Mama's neighborhood...her name was Michelle...her nickname was Cha-Cha...I'm told my dad used to date her...you do the math.
Whatever the source of inspiration, Michelle means "Who is like God?" It's French in it's roots. My middle name means "messenger of God." And it's French, too. Two French names for a child given to a mother with Arkansas cotton picking roots and a daddy, with small town South Carolina trouble makers in his genes. Perhaps they had high aspirations for me? They were definitely marking me for God, that's for sure! Of course, the "Angelique" character from "Dark Shadows" was a witch...responsible for turning Barnabas Collins into a vampire. I used to ask Mama if Angelique was a good witch and she told me she was. Imagine how surprised I was when I learned the truth about Angelique's storyline! If good witches turn folks into blood suckers, I'm scared to think about what a bad one does!
Nicknames...we Southern folk LOVE a nickname. I knew an older gentleman...I mean, he was in his eighties when I knew him and he was still called "June," which is short for "Junebug." DownSouth, if a boy is called "June" or "Junebug, " it can safely be assumed that he is the junior to his father's senior. In his eighties, this man was still known by his childhood nickname. I knew another man who was called "PeeWee." He was not nearly as old as Mr. June, but he had grown children...he was a grandfather...and still, he was PeeWee to those who knew him. My Papa W. gave me "Mickey" and that's what my family called me as I was growing up. I wasn't the only Michelle in school, so "Mickey" came in handy to set myself apart from the other Michelles. Several of them were called "Shelly", for short...I was the only Mickey. I like that name. It rings as sassy and happy to my ears. And what are the college years without a nickname? The fact that I already had one didn't matter. There was Tommy-Toad, Gordo, Dez, Pooh, Chica, Toadbuddy, Frito, Shell....those were my friends. Chica's the one who came up with "Mickers." She came rushing into my room..."Mickers! My tummy hurts!" It stuck....Mickers, not Chica's tummy ache. Mr. Snark calls me that. His dad used to say it in a really funny way...heavy emphasis on the first syllable and this usually happened when I beat him to the dirty joke/off color comment/smarty pants retort. Didn't happen often, but when it did, it was gooooood! Somewhere along the way, he started calling me Punkin...not to be confused with Pumpkin. Two different things. I loved it! What daughter doesn't want to be her dad's Punkin? And he used to introduce me to folks as that...not Michelle, but Punkin. At his funeral, I met folks from his office who knew me as Punkin...evidently, he told them lots about me...his love for the girl who stole his son's heart was obvious. I miss hearing him say that.
My daddy calls me Shelby and the littles on that side of the family call me Aunt Shelby. The kids at church call me Mrs. Michelle....some of them call me Mrs. Snark. I'm good with the formality of Mrs. Snark...especially for the ones who think they are all that and a bag of chips. 2L and later, 2L-er, came from our time in RollingHills, GA. We've talked about this before...Mr. Snark and Dan'l had to come up with a way to distinguish one wife from the other...both of us with the same first name. She spells hers "Michele, " so we became 1L and 2L. Was supposed to be JUST for them, but it got to the Sunday School class and I became 2L-er! Sounds like some old lady! Chelle was born out of a group of online friends...another Michelle was in the group when I came along and they just gave me that name. They are a special bunch, in twenty-three different ways! Mama calls me Dolly...just a term of endearment, not a comment about my physical features, if you know what I mean. Mr. Snark calls me that, too. He's being very sweet when he calls me that:) Mitzy-Bitzy and Trouble are names I earned at our current church. One of our office volunteers couldn't remember my name when speaking to our Children's Minister...so she called me "Mitzy-Bitzy." Why our minster of music calls me "Trouble" is beyond me! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he was poking fun at me as a brand new choir member....and I poked right back. He figured out he had someone to play with and we enjoy a rowdy friendship.
I guess my favorite name is Mama. I was "Mommy" when they were little. Little hands, little feet, little voices...all replaces with the hands, feet and voices of boys on the brink of manhood! I don't like "Mother." It sounds cold and colorless, to me. Y1 will use it when he's annoyed with me...because he knows it annoys me...he is my child. Sometimes, he calls me "Madre." There is NOTHING like the first time your child says your name and understands what that word means. That was the one name I wanted most in life. I'm holding out for "Sassy" as my grandmother name...I think it's PERFECT!
Names are funny things...you can say "Charlotte" to a group of fifty people and the reaction of each person will be unique and personal. Maybe some will remember a precious little girl from church...maybe some will think about the family's old maid aunt, who was as crazy as a bag of cats. Some might think of a girl names Charlotte...but she went by Lottie or Charly and she was the life of the party.
I guess as long as folks remember me well and think fondly of me when they hear "Michelle," I don't care what they call me.
Michelle, Michelle Angelic (pronounced "Angelique"...my mama watched "Dark Shadows." Don't know why she altered the spelling...you'll have to ask her), Mickey, Mickers, Shelby, Punkin, Mrs. Michelle, Mrs. Snark, Chelle, Aunt Shelby, 2L, 2L-er, Mommy, Mama, Mother (Y1 tends to call me this when he's annoyed because he knows it annoys me), Mitzy-Bitsy, Trouble, Dolly, Sassy. Those are my names. And...yes...there's an explanation for each one.....lucky for you, I'm in the mood for 'splaining:)
Michelle Angelic is the name my parents gave me. I'm told that Mama actually wanted to call me "Christmas Snow." With my birthday being six days before Christmas, I guess she thought I needed a name reflective of the holiday season. Seriously....Christmas Snow? You do know that is the name of Suzanne Somers' character on the old sitcom "Three's Company?" Can you imagine a life being compared to that ding bat? Sheesh! Anyway, thank GOD Michelle Angelic won. It was 1970...the Beatles recorded their ode to Michelle five years earlier, so maybe that's why my folks chose that to be my first name. The Beatles had a profound impact on everything else; it stands to reason. I'll even bet there was a spike for boys named John, Paul, George and Richard (that was Ringo's given name)! There was a girl who grew up in Mama's neighborhood...her name was Michelle...her nickname was Cha-Cha...I'm told my dad used to date her...you do the math.
Whatever the source of inspiration, Michelle means "Who is like God?" It's French in it's roots. My middle name means "messenger of God." And it's French, too. Two French names for a child given to a mother with Arkansas cotton picking roots and a daddy, with small town South Carolina trouble makers in his genes. Perhaps they had high aspirations for me? They were definitely marking me for God, that's for sure! Of course, the "Angelique" character from "Dark Shadows" was a witch...responsible for turning Barnabas Collins into a vampire. I used to ask Mama if Angelique was a good witch and she told me she was. Imagine how surprised I was when I learned the truth about Angelique's storyline! If good witches turn folks into blood suckers, I'm scared to think about what a bad one does!
Nicknames...we Southern folk LOVE a nickname. I knew an older gentleman...I mean, he was in his eighties when I knew him and he was still called "June," which is short for "Junebug." DownSouth, if a boy is called "June" or "Junebug, " it can safely be assumed that he is the junior to his father's senior. In his eighties, this man was still known by his childhood nickname. I knew another man who was called "PeeWee." He was not nearly as old as Mr. June, but he had grown children...he was a grandfather...and still, he was PeeWee to those who knew him. My Papa W. gave me "Mickey" and that's what my family called me as I was growing up. I wasn't the only Michelle in school, so "Mickey" came in handy to set myself apart from the other Michelles. Several of them were called "Shelly", for short...I was the only Mickey. I like that name. It rings as sassy and happy to my ears. And what are the college years without a nickname? The fact that I already had one didn't matter. There was Tommy-Toad, Gordo, Dez, Pooh, Chica, Toadbuddy, Frito, Shell....those were my friends. Chica's the one who came up with "Mickers." She came rushing into my room..."Mickers! My tummy hurts!" It stuck....Mickers, not Chica's tummy ache. Mr. Snark calls me that. His dad used to say it in a really funny way...heavy emphasis on the first syllable and this usually happened when I beat him to the dirty joke/off color comment/smarty pants retort. Didn't happen often, but when it did, it was gooooood! Somewhere along the way, he started calling me Punkin...not to be confused with Pumpkin. Two different things. I loved it! What daughter doesn't want to be her dad's Punkin? And he used to introduce me to folks as that...not Michelle, but Punkin. At his funeral, I met folks from his office who knew me as Punkin...evidently, he told them lots about me...his love for the girl who stole his son's heart was obvious. I miss hearing him say that.
My daddy calls me Shelby and the littles on that side of the family call me Aunt Shelby. The kids at church call me Mrs. Michelle....some of them call me Mrs. Snark. I'm good with the formality of Mrs. Snark...especially for the ones who think they are all that and a bag of chips. 2L and later, 2L-er, came from our time in RollingHills, GA. We've talked about this before...Mr. Snark and Dan'l had to come up with a way to distinguish one wife from the other...both of us with the same first name. She spells hers "Michele, " so we became 1L and 2L. Was supposed to be JUST for them, but it got to the Sunday School class and I became 2L-er! Sounds like some old lady! Chelle was born out of a group of online friends...another Michelle was in the group when I came along and they just gave me that name. They are a special bunch, in twenty-three different ways! Mama calls me Dolly...just a term of endearment, not a comment about my physical features, if you know what I mean. Mr. Snark calls me that, too. He's being very sweet when he calls me that:) Mitzy-Bitzy and Trouble are names I earned at our current church. One of our office volunteers couldn't remember my name when speaking to our Children's Minister...so she called me "Mitzy-Bitzy." Why our minster of music calls me "Trouble" is beyond me! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he was poking fun at me as a brand new choir member....and I poked right back. He figured out he had someone to play with and we enjoy a rowdy friendship.
I guess my favorite name is Mama. I was "Mommy" when they were little. Little hands, little feet, little voices...all replaces with the hands, feet and voices of boys on the brink of manhood! I don't like "Mother." It sounds cold and colorless, to me. Y1 will use it when he's annoyed with me...because he knows it annoys me...he is my child. Sometimes, he calls me "Madre." There is NOTHING like the first time your child says your name and understands what that word means. That was the one name I wanted most in life. I'm holding out for "Sassy" as my grandmother name...I think it's PERFECT!
Names are funny things...you can say "Charlotte" to a group of fifty people and the reaction of each person will be unique and personal. Maybe some will remember a precious little girl from church...maybe some will think about the family's old maid aunt, who was as crazy as a bag of cats. Some might think of a girl names Charlotte...but she went by Lottie or Charly and she was the life of the party.
I guess as long as folks remember me well and think fondly of me when they hear "Michelle," I don't care what they call me.
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