What's in a name?...

At lunch on the first day of our visit with my parents, my mother turns to me and says, "I can't believe you've crushed my dream!!"

I'm a little taken aback by her exclamation.

And what dream would this be?

"I always wanted a grandchild named 'Schmoopie'!" she says.

She and my father laugh.

My mom is referring, of course, to my Edna...Gertrude...Moon Unit post and one of the names we (ha ha) "briefly considered and rejected"...

Schmoopie.

After lunch my parents start referring to our eventual Plus One as "Schmoopie"...

All weekend long.

Of course, this leads to another discussion that we've been having for some time now...the discussion about what my mom is going to be called by The Kid when The Kid is old enough to call her anything.

Chris and I believe that small children should refer to adults not just by their first names, but with a special honorific. Some family names: Captain, Gram, Nana, Babci (pronounced "Bop - chee"...Polish for Grandma), CoCo, Ama (pronounced "Ah - muh"), Dapa (like "Papa"), PapaJohn, Auntie Jenn and Uncle Chris.

My mother wishes the child to call her "Ellen Marsha," which, while different than her everyday name (Ellen), still does not contain any special kind of honorific that would identify her in some way as our Little One's grandmother.

My father has expressed his wish to be called "Dr. Don." OK. There's an honorific there. We'll take it.

So there were several discussions this weekend...

Finally, at one point I say to my mom," Fine, if you want to be called 'Ellen Marsha' that's what we'll call you, but chances are that The Kid won't be able to pronounce it and she'll end up calling you 'EllenMosh" or something like 'Mosh- Mosh.'"

As I say this, Chris looks at me with a gleam in his eye.

I look back with an amused and just slightly malicious gleam in my eye.

My mother looks at the two of us with an expression that clearly says, "Oh no! No way!"

Mosh-mosh!

Perfect.

Schmoopie and Mosh-Mosh.

Life in Nameland is good.