photo by Traci Bunkers @ http://www.TraciBunkers.com
“I don’t like it anymore,” my son said, right before he took an enormous bite out of an enormous apple.
“What?”
He held up one finger to indicate that his mouth was full, a gesture he learned from me.
“This Monkey business. I’ve outgrown it.”
I’ve been waiting for this moment since my son started middle school.
Last year.
But now that he is finishing his first semester of 7th grade, he has decided that Monkey is no longer a good fit for him.
Forget about the fact that he actually looks exactly like Curious George.
If Curious George had freckles.
Forget about the fact that after he gets a brush cut, his hairline looks exactly like a little baby monkey’s.
Forget about the fact that he is sproingy like a monkey.
The reality is that Monkey is done being Monkey.
“So can I just start calling you by your real name?”
“Noooooo!” my son shrieked in his high-pitched I’m-in-the-midst-of-puberty-and-my-voice-but-my-voice-hasn’t-changed-yet timbre.
“Well, get to thinking,” I told my boy. “I have to call you something.
After he completed three hours of homework — ten algebra problems, a Spanish worksheet on conjugating verbs, some science worksheet on density, mass and volume, a social studies worksheet on Chapter 2, Section 4, and an English thingy where he had to read something and write a response (note: he keeps me out of the English loop) — he went downstairs to practice piano and then returned upstairs to practice for his bar-mitzvah.
Around 6 pm, he put all his books away and wandered into the kitchen where I was making dinner.
“Tech Support?”
“What about tech support?” I asked absently as I popped a black olive in my mouth while pouring marinade over that night’s chicken.
“That’s what you should call me.”
I looked at him blankly.
“You know, for your blog?” He picked up an olive and popped it into his mouth.
“That’s actually pretty good…”
“It’s good because it’s true,” he said.
Little bastard is right. He will always be my little Monkey, but over the last year, our conversations involve my screaming for his assistance because something has happened to my Excel Spread sheet formula, and I don’t know how to fix it. So he fixes it for me. Or I want to do a Power Point presentation, but I don’t know how to set it up. So he sets it up for me. Or I want to change the banner on blog but that involves Gimp and multiple layers, and I don’t know how to do that. So he does it for me. In 6.3 minutes. For years, he has been my IT guy: my fixer, my assistant.
I am starting to think I should pay him.
While I was thinking these things, my 12-year old son said aloud (to absolutely no one): “I will detach your head from your body!”
Looking around the room, I declared, “Wow, you are the King of the non-sequitor.”
“I know,” he smiled. “And yes, I know what a non-sequitor is.”
We both popped olives in our mouths and, as I finished the dinner prep, my son moved to the pantry in search of something that would be ready to eat sooner than the chicken.
Finding nothing, he moved to the freezer.
Which is empty.
Because it has been broken for one week now.
My son stuck his head deep inside the icemaker. From the depths of the freezer, I heard my son’s voice. It was deeper than usual. Distorted from being inside the freezer, he sounded like someone else: a man.
“I really want a frozen pretzel,” this man said, “When are we going to get our freezer fixed?”
“As soon as I get some.”
“Some what?” he turned to look at me, 12-years old again.
I smiled and popped another olive in my mouth, held up my finger and made him wait.
“Tech Support.”
What nicknames did you call your children? Have they changed over the years? What little changes have signaled your child is growing up?
renée a. schuls-jacobson 
I don’t have any children of my own, but I used to call my niece “Pun’kin” . Not sure when I stopped – probably about the time her younger brother was born ’cause I didn’t have a nickname for him.
When I was little, my nickname from my Dad was Gumball. I know he used it up to at least middle school.
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I love the name Gumball. Implies such sweetness. 😉
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I forgot until I read Leanne’s reply below – when my “pun’kin” was little, she couldn’t say Chrysti, so she called me Cricky. I was sad when she and her siblings grew up and could manage Chrysti – I wish I was still Cricky!
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My mother-in-law calls my son “pun’kin” and we joke that she is actually trying to say “punk-kid.”
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Last week, my mom called me and asked me if I needed any socks. I said, “How old do I need to get for you to not ask these kinds of questions?” Silence. It was a rhetorical question, of course. He will always be your Monkey, and I will always be one phonecall away from a fresh supply of socks.
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I’m feeling very weepy today. maybe because of the name change, maybe because I read my friend Kasey’s blog which got me all teary. But now I’m crying about your socks.
Will I always want to buy Tech Support socks? Will he let me? What if he doesn’t.
Maybe I need to be more forgiving of all the ugly things my mother buys me. She is just showing me she loves me. *weep*
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This brings back memories of my almost 22 year old son Kelly and my daughter who will turn 20 after Christmas.
KK, Kell Kell, Baby boy, (tolerable since I call Danny Baby man.) (both) tweedles, little skink, stinkwad, Courtney – CC, sweetie girl, lovey girl, baby girl the list goes on. Now my son DJ’s and laughs when kids on campus say, “Hi Ksmash!”
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I love nicknames. I had a zillion. I just have to get used to this new one. Maybe it’s because he picked this name himself.
It hasn’t quite jibed yet.
It’s like putting on a pair of shoes that still pinch a little.
I’m glad your kids still answer to anything you call them.
And you’ve always got your Baby Man. 😉
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Love this post. It must be hard to see the boy growing up!
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It’s not usually hard. I must have PMS or something. 😉
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Thing 1 is most often known as Wendy (short for Wendy Whiner). She will also go by Ery, Thing 1, girly, and sweetheart.
Thing 2 is either Weaz (short for weasel) or Walter (short for Walter Whiner). He has also gone by: Bub, The Boy, Jay, Jaybles, and Thing 2.
I’m pretty big on nicknames, as you can probably tell.
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Hi Eric!
I love your kids’ nicknames. Better Whiners than Weiners. 😉
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You write so well. Little things like bringing up the finger again at the end, and the dialogue, they just completely set you apart. I savor every post I read. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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Oh KD, you are too kind.
It seriously went down like this.
Right down to my finger. 😉
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I’ll have to admit, when I waved to him on Skype, he did look like Tech Support. Friendly Tech Support.
When Vivi was little, she couldn’t say William, so she called her twin “My-yum”. We all called him My-yum. Except now, with the passage of time, we’ve lost it. She’s long been able to say William. But truth? I miss my My-yum, too.
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And a new pic! (Or have I just ignored the header at the top of your blog for weeks?)
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You haven’t missed anything, lady! It’s brand new! Tech Support just did it! Maybe I should add that as a public service announcement.
I forgot you saw my dude.
Can you say: “Hi, I work at Apple. May I help you?”
How he would love to say those words.
My-yum. *weep*
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I totally noticed first. Canadians must just be slower. And he’ll always be monkey. You’ll bring it back when he’s in his 20s and he’ll find it charming. Just not around girls.
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Look at you slipping in here. And Canadians in a different time zone are definitely slower.
How about we kidnap Shirtsleeves and drag her to OUR Eastern Standard Time.
I haven’t called him you-know-what since he politely requested that I stop.
It’s. Been. Really. Hard. IYKWIM.
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You may kidnap me as long as I don’t have to do crafts. That’s a deal killer.
And FP! Woohoo!
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Wow… The monkey has grown into tech support.
I think he’d get along with my husband Computer God/Guru aka CG quite well. That’s who taught me to use Gimp layers. 🙂
It’s hard to imagine my children outgrowing their nicknames. I’ve probably destined my son to become a linebacker thanks to The Tackler nickname. I can always switch Lil Diva to Diva…
It’s awesome your son is your tech support. I think he would love for it to be a paid position.
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Kelly:
At least you picked nicknames with growth potential.
How forward thinking of you.
And my dude would love for that to be a paid position.
I think I’ll keep that on the down-low right now.
Maybe he won’t realize that until next year. 😉
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Well, if Tech Support is lending out his tech services, I could use some aesthetic support for my blog 😉 Kidding. Well, not really, but I could only pay in frozen pretzels.
At any rate, I still have the same nickname I’ve had since I was little–Busi (pronounced Boo-shee.) It’s Polish for grandma, and my mom and grandma have called me that since I was a baby. Friends call me “Abs” at times, but for mom and gram, it’s Busi. That will never change!
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Abby:
I saw your blog about “Busi” (Soo-shee). I love that name. So special.
And I’m talking a serious blog overhaul here.
And if that freezer guy does not show-up today, I think my son will gladly accept payment in frozen pretzels. 😉
I might too.
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This is such a sweet and heart-breaking piece! Your Monkey’s gone IT!! My Tucker is Tucker Nutter Peanut Butter or TT BaBa. Andie is Googie! Bet you never knew, I’ve been Arnold since 5th grade b/c I used to imitate Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter!
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Kasey:
I love those names. Does Tucker let you call him TTBaBa in public? Or do you keep that in the house?
Okay, I did NOT know you were Arnold.
How did I miss THAT impression? Can you do the laugh or what?
How about you put THAT on YouTube? 😉
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You know my son’s primary nickname, “Li’l D,” for his (perhaps temporary) littleness compared to his namesake. I also call him “littles,” “pumpkin” and “sweetheart.” None too inventive, but he gets that I’m talking about him.
Actually, it occurs to me we all call him “monkey,” too–in this case, because he’s always climbing. On everything.
Every day we find he’s using more words, and fitting them together better. This morning, he said, “Cats there nope!” and I smiled. He may be growing fast, but as long as he said things like that (instead of “no cats there”), he’s still my tiny little sweetheart. ♥
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Oh, that language acquisition thing is awesome. I remember when Tech Support couldn’t said “gust” instead of “just,” but he could say Jacobson (our last name) perfectly fine.
I knew the correction would eventually happen, and it was “gust” so endearing, I never corrected him. And then one day, it was “just” gone.
*boo hoo*
What’s wrong with me?
Did you notice how I just slipped right into it? I have to, right?
It’s like Billy Joel once sang: “He’s always a Monkey to me.”
Or something like that. 😉
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Love your post – thanks for making me smile 🙂 My Stephen is “D” the letter because that is how my Harrison made the “S” sound – it stuck and from time to time he is still D without any complaints. Gregory was Shark Tale when I was pregnant (the older boys loved the movie). After he was born that disappeared – thank goodness since I nursed him! Harrison/Harry never had any nicknames – I’m sure it’s the middle child thing………..
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Hi Pam:
So Stephen was “Deeven”? That’s adorable. I love how they all still use it from time to time. That’s sweet, and it speaks to how close they are. 😉
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For weeks, or months – who’s keeping track – I’d see your Twitter photo and think you had to be the coolest lady ever. Now that I’ve started following your blog I’m even more impressed with you.
When my daughter was a toddler, she was “Cookie Monster.” She lived to eat, especially cookies. Happily, the moniker has long since ceased to be appropriate. At 42 she’s trimmer and looks better than most of her sons’ female friends.
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Aren’t you the sweet-talker, Mr. David. N. Walker?
Thank you for your kind words. I am very glad that we met in the Twitterverse as well. What a treat!
And I’m glad to know that your Cookie Monster has grown up to be a hottie. 😉
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I also like the skit by Bill Cosby where he says he grew up believing his name was “dammit” and his brother was “what the hell…”
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That is a great skit, Marianne!
My mother used to combine my name with my brother’s name.
We were Err-enée and Ren-erick.
We both enjoyed that very much. 😛
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I am sure I had many nicknames for my son when he was little. He is going to be 21 in January, so I don’t remember them all. The one that sticks out the most is Richie lo lo. I can’t recall how he ended up with that, but all family members called him that. I think he was about 14 when my nephew Joey said, “You know Aunt Missy he is growing up and I think we should stop calling him that.” Joey was always good at pointing out things. (god rest his soul) I miss that nickname and I also miss Joey. Your son will always be monkey to me too Renee =D
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Wait, people called you Aunt Missy?
Hahahahahahahaha!
Excellent! 😉
Love to you and Richie-lo-lo.
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If the worker gives value, yes, he should be paid. Tell Tech Support that I’m in his corner.
Wayne
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Nice, Wayne.
He had value before he ever did anything.
But now he actually can do stuff.
Are you insinuating I owe him back-pay? 😉
If so, please tell me what the proper compensation might be.
Can I pay him in Fun-Dip?
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What he needs is an IMac. Give him a chance to develop his artistic side. And considering how much work he’s done for you, I’d say you’d be getting off cheap at twice the price 🙂
Wayne
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This is such a bittersweet post – I LOVE his new blog name, identity, the conversation.
I call the Reds, in no particular order: Magoo, Interloper, Firstborn, Bug, Bugalicious, Heart, Menace, Soul, Sir Hmphsalot, Dawd Toddler…
Could be I have a wee, teensy issue with nicknames…
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How can anyone be in a foul mood with all those nicknames.
“C’mere, Sir Hmpshsalot!”
Love it.
*whispering* Sometimes I call Tech Support “Jewy McJewenstein” before he has to go to religious school.
This name was not endorsed by Tech Support. 😉
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This is your Mom speaking. I love that Tech Support has spoken up. I love the new name. Kisses to him.
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Since when has Tech Support ever been quiet? 😉
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This was an adorable post! And I’m a big fan of nicknames. When I was little, mine was Chatterbox from my dad and Lulu from my mom. My sis called me Jessiki. Today, my honey calls me Sweetie Bean when I’m happy and Grumpy Pumpkin when I haven’t eaten for awhile. He’s Honeypot Babykins and Mr. Pouty Pants. I know, we’re kind of disgusting.
So, WWBC partner, what should our nicknames be? LOL
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Jess! I love all your nicknames! I had a million nicknames, too. Ren, Renna, Renz, Née, Nay-Nay, Sha-nay-nay! 😉
So are we going with our secret code names, pardner?
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My youngest sister Kim gets called lots of different things by our family – Kimberly Sue Johnson wax, Kimbo Jimbo Jones, and Kimberlina Josephina. Though when I left her to go traveling almost 2 years ago she was just finishing high school and using the ‘smile sweetly and someone will do it for me’ method frequently but since then she has moved out of home got half way through her University Degree and is rather independent from what I can tell from Skype and phone calls. She wont be the little girl I left when I get back.
Probably no where near as scary as when your own kids do that but I’m not quite there yet.
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“Kimberly Sue Johnson Wax.”
Okay, that is hysterical.
I used to call my husband Marcus Welby, MD. when he was in med school.
Not so much anymore.
Especially since no one understands who that is, so it lost a lot of its ha ha ha humor.
We old. 😉
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Awww! I understand your wistful feelings, Renee. My daughters had various nicknames depending on my mood. All of them are equally sickening: Pooky Bunny or Tayda for my oldest and Li’l Boo or H Boo for my youngest.
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If by “sickening,” you mean sickeningly adorable, I am with you. 😉
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I like the old nickname, but I like the new one, too. Will you call him TS for short?
My dad used to call me Panger. I’m not sure if he combined my love of pandas with my first name or if he was trying to combine my last name with my first name.
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I can’t imagine shortening his new nickname more.
I’m still getting used to calling him Tech Support.
But if you want to call him T.S., well… that might help me ease into it.
I love Panger. It sounds mysterious. 😉
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Love this post, as well as both of your son’s nicknames. I have so many different names for my daughters, that sometimes I seriously forget what I’m saying, and then a weird combination of several come out and turn into one…. sheeeeesh!!
Also, great new picture as your header!!
Congrats on the “FP”! You rock, Renee!!! 🙂
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Jut found out about the FP thang!
Thanks for telling me, Carol!
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Freshly Pressed! Woot woot!! I love this post; your son is a hoot. But even I’m having trouble letting go of the Monkey nickname. It’s so cute!
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Hi Jules! Wow! I go to school for a few hours, and I come home and wowza!
Maybe we can still secretly call him Monkey?
Ya think?
Probably not, eh? 😉
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Pingback: Monkey Has Left The Building by Renée Schuls-Jacobson | Fashionnation1on1
Ha, cute!
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HAW! Great post! Thank you for sharing!
I will follow your blog for sure.
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My name is Ronnie, and my husband calls me “Reginald.” That name comes from the old Honeymooners TV show. Reginald Van Gleeson was one Jackie Gleeson’s characters, who was very rich and pretentious.
Uh.oh: should I take that reference seriously?
Ronnie
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Ha! That is hilarious. And rich and pretentious is nothing to be ashamed of.
Maybe. 😉
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Yesterday, my 12-year old son paired my phone to bluetooth in my car in 2 minutes. I had been trying for two weeks. 🙂
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Hi Karen:
Aren’t they incredible?
I had to have Tech Support change the clock in the car!
No idea!
How do they do that? 😉
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I dont have kids but your blog was very cute. TY for sharing.
http://valentinedefrancis.blogspot.com/
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Hi V:
Reading about people with kids is very good birth control.
Just saying. 😉
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Daughter: called her Bobble. From birth she insisted she could lift her head and, of course, it just bobbled all over the place. It stuck till she was about 9, when she became taller than me and I thought it would be a wise move to stop.
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You had a little bobblehead?
*weep*
That is adorable.
But, yes, when they are taller than you things need to stop.
Or do they? 😉
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This is such a bittersweet post – I LOVE his new blog name, identity, the conversation.
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Thank you. Such kindness. I’m overwhelmed.
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My son could hold me hostage – he has upgraded computers for me, programed phones, everything right down to updating my ipod….. I like tech support!
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Hi MJ!
I know! I already freak out when my person goes away to summer camp each year for 3 weeks, and this year he’s decided on four weeks!
I swear, there are nights when I are moments away from calling the camp.
But I make long lists of all the things I need him to do for me for when he gets home. And then he does them in about 6 minutes.
They are magic, this generation of Screenagers. 😉
Fearless!
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You probably shouldn’t tell him how many of us refer to Tech Support as trained monkeys. 🙂 Great post and congratulations!
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Hi Anne! You know, I used to call the folks at Tech Support “monkeys,” but now I find myself ingratiating myself to them.
I think I have spoken to every Tech person at the college at which I work.
And they are so nice to me.
Even when I am crazy.
Which is what I become when I have a tech problem.
Good thing I have Tech Support as a buffer. 😉
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…having kids as a way to get free tech support…yesssss.
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I didn’t know it when I was doing it, but it has worked out well! 😉
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I’m still young enough that I remember what my parents called me. I don’t remember any nicknames that weren’t variants of “Gabriel”, so I probably got off lucky.
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I’m thinking you can’t go wrong with Gabe. 😉
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What a cute post!!
I don’t have kids, but I call my niece “baby girl”…I know she’ll grow out of it at some point, so I’ll say it as much as possible now while she’s still small. 🙂
(P.S. I’ve always thought your comments on eduClaytion were hilarious – so glad that you were Freshly Pressed today!) 😀
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Hi PCC-A!
Clay is my original Fryber! He and I found each other when we first showed up at WordPress.
It’s nice to see you have found me here.
I have enjoyed your comments, too. 😉 *blush*
I think we’re dating now.
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Awesome. I love cyber-dating people I’ve never met before…especially if they blush. That just means things are going really well.
Better not say any more…don’t want to jinx it. 😉
P.S. You are still hilarious
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Great post! I don’t have kids yet but I’m working on a pet name for my husband. I like Hubs, but I’m not sure that’s the right one…
plus, he says it sounds like “chubs.”
But I call him that in my blog anyway…
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Hi Melissa:
I call my husband Hubby.
Which rhymes with chubby.
But he is like skeleton skinny, so it’s irony.
And I’m an English teacher.
So it works. 😉
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My youngest, Tony, is VERY skinny so we call him “Skele-tony.”
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Okay, I laughed out loud for real when I read this on my phone. And I just laughed again when I read it the second time. I am going to need to come and check you out when all this madness ends. 😉
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Awesome to scan the Pressed pieces and see this, Renee. Congrats.
This reminds me a little of your post where you’re watching Tech Support and your husband hit range balls in the rain. He’s growing up.
I’m just hopeful my kids never read my blog. Not sure I want them to know the names I call them there.
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Hi Chase:
I’m sure Hellcat will harbor no resentments. She’ll just kick you in the shins.
And Tax Credit #4 will TOTALLY appreciate knowing how much he contributes to the family.
Thanks for checking me out, ole Chap. 😉
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I haven’t got children of my own and I love giving nicknames to point out the errors of my niece, such as ‘Smelly black bum’ when she refuses to change her clothes after she got all dirty from playing outdoors. It changes from time to time depending on her misdeed but she gets the message. 😉
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Outstanding.
“Smelly black bum” is good for the self-esteem too! 😉
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Amusing slice-of-life.
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Thank you. That’s generally what you get around here.
Unless it’s not amusing. 😉
And then I’m sorry!
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Great story! My children are actually still pretty young so we still call them by their nicknames which are bella, bell, buisy iz, izzy, kiki, jojo, weeky keeks, monkey, weiry, devo, and dev. We only have three children but a lot of extended family of whom gives different names for each. They don’t mind and neither do we. Their only small for a short period of time. My oldest son is nine and I can tell he’s changing by the way he talks. Sometime’s I’m shocked by how intelligent he is, it almost seem’s as if I am talking to another adult. Great blog! Loved it!
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Then you totally get it! The changing thing. That’s where we are. He is becoming a real person.
I am not missing the baby.
I feel like I’m just meeting this really cool new and improved person.
Nice to meet you, cozzicorner!
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Curious George, which in Norwegian is called Nysgjerrige Nils, is a classic around the world. I read Curious George as a child and read it now for my son.
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Well, then you know exactly what my son looked like.
Before he turned 12.
*weep*
Keep reading to your son.
For me. 😉
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You used the word “sproingy” – I think that’s going to be part of my regular vocabulary now. In the reverse way my nephews have called me Aunt Kiki since they could speak. They’re starting to call me Aunt Kim every now and then, and it makes me sad because it means they’re growing up. It’s funny when kids ask for new nicknames – and very hard to break the habit. Nicknames are terms of endearment that just roll off the tongue. Congrats on being pressed, Renee! I LOVE your new header too.
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Hi Kim!
I’m so glad you are here! And thank you for noticing the new header. I’m guessing you can figure out who made that, eh?
And you know I love to make up words, right?
Another Made-It Up Monday coming up soon! 😉
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AT&T tech support couldn’t locate the backslash key on my phone, but my 12yr old niece found it. Seriously.
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I am no surprised.
Twelve-years-olds know everything about technology.
It’s a whole new kind of smart.
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I find this very funny and interesting. I haven’t called my kids any nicknames but I’ll create for each one of them soon. Nice post! KUDOS for being freshly pressed. 😀
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Nicknames kind of just happen. I don’t know that you can force them. Sometimes they happen when you misspeak, so a weird blend of names is born. A forced nickname is doomed to fail.
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I don’t have kids but I’m the Walking Dictionary and Thesaurus. They’ll just yell for me instead of bothering to look up the actual dictionaries or thesauruses.
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You should start making up words.
I don’t think I could contain myself from doling out bad definitions, if only to teach them how to use the dictionary.
Or at least how to Google. 😉
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My dad called me Amy-one-kinobe…..I dont have children, but I am sure they will have nicknames as they are fun and add a bond to any relationship-
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Amy-Wan-Kinobe.
That is rich.
And you are right; they do add that layer of intimacy to a relationship.
Unless someone calls you Poop-face or something. 😉
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Holy comments! I haven’t been around much but clearly this has been pressed! I’ve never really had nicknames for my kids but I never really had many nicknames as a kid either so I guess I’m just following suit. Good for him for having the gumption to say he was ready to move to something else. BTW what’s taking so long to get the freezer fixed? 🙂
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Steve!
The freezer is 100% fixed as of today! I was waiting for a new bucket which was discontinued. But the chill returned on Tuesday.
This post ran on 11/3. I don’t know how WordPress does the Freshly Pressed thang. There was a definitely a delay was in finding it! 😉
By the way, I LOVED the song you wrote for your wife. Fantastic.
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Thanks, I’m kinda proud of it! Thanks for tweeting it. And congratulations on the freezer victory!
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If he dosen’t want any of the pins anymore I’m open to having them 😀 I’m obsessed with Curious George – monkeys in general ! 🙂 Loved this blog though super cute.
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That photo of the pins came from Traci Bunkers from Flickr.com. If you click on the photo, it should take you to her site. You can leave her a comment. Maybe she’d be willing to make a deal! 😉
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I love this. I call my kids Monkey 1 and Monkey 2….
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Do they like to climb all over everything, too? 😉
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I like this blog, although I have no children now, but i also want to learn how to communicate with my kid in the future. So great blog!
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My parents have and always will, call me “dumpling” my dad has at times shortened it to “dump” which does not make me happy. My aunt would call me doodle, and my two older brothers “the favorite child”. My grandmother would call me “dingle hopper” and my grandfather would have to go through all three of his kids’ names as well as my two brothers before he got to me. He still calls me “Julie” (his youngest daughter/ my aunt) to this day. I never bother to correct him. I still answer to all of them go this day.
My boyfriend of 3 years actually calls me “monkey”. Excellent post!
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Dorrie!
You got stuck with some stinkers: Dingle Hopper? And Dump? Oy! I know about being called the wrong name. My mother used to do this hybrid thing with my brother’s name by mixing our names together. And now she has grandchildren, so we all get thrown into the mix and I just kind of wait until she figure out who I am.
Her only daughter. 😉
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for the record …Just how big was that enormous apple anyway?
lol
-Ron
http://www.learntobeatmatch.ca
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It was positively huge.
If you know what I mean. (#IYKWIM)
If you are gonna hang with me, you have to like hyperbole. 😉
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We called and still call our daughter pumpkinhead. And what is funny she is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Has always been pretty. Where did we ever get pumpkinhead. Our son was nicknamed Grego or the Mayor, not that it is too abnormal or anything, but a special guest in our home abreviated his name to Grego and it was cute and stuck and then when he was in fifth grade he was Mayor of 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. And that one stuck because my boss at the time was pretty impressed, as were we.
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I love every single one of those names.
There is a kid on my street I call “The Mayor” because he is such a charmer. I can totally imagine him kissing babies and asking people to vote for him.
Some nicknames are just spot on!
Nice to meet you! 😉
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How cute. My kids (or my son rather) are more like me. I never went through a stage where I demanded the adults in my life to call me something more … ‘mature’ or less … ’embarassing’. Let them have their little slice of heaven.:) My son is the same and has several different nicknames, even though, some are actually mispronunciations of his name and he just lets people use them. My son is just shy of 18 now but, when he was younger, I used to call him Mainey and some other relatives called him Maney or Mainy Man. His name is Treman (trah-main). I made the personal choice to stop calling him that and just start calling him Main when he was about 13 or so. When we had a conversation about nicknames about three years back, he didn’t really care if people continued to use any of his nicknames. It just isn’t a big deal to him.
Now, my daughter, on the other hand has a few nicknames I’m almost positive she does not want to carry on in her life. One is Chicken. I don’t know why various relatives on my side decided that was a suitable nickname for her but it is one they have used. One of my sisters used to call her Doodoo because, as a baby, that seemed to be all she did according to my sister who used to babysit her while I worked. The last is GloWorm. As a child mixed with black, my daughter is very fair-skinned with a strong yellow undertoned to her skin just like her mother so, once again, various members on my side of the family thought that nickname was appropriate since one of the nicknames they use for me is LightBrite.
Gotta love it, eh? Thanks for the post!
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Interesting how some nicknames are embraced while others are rejected. I have to say, I don’t think I’d like to be called “Chicken or “Doodoo.” Not in public anyway.
I love that you are LightBrite. Besides that fact that it addresses your skin, it has such a wonderful, positive connotation to it. I wish all mothers could be LightBrites to their children. You know? 😉
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I have a middle-school Monkey,too. His name is Henry. We wanted to name him Harry, but our last name is Wolf. Obviously, he would have killed us. He’s always been Henry, but lately, he’s asked us to call him “Hank”. He’s not a “Hank”. He’s my firstborn, my amazing child who’s just like your Monkey — gets himself up and out every morning even as I doze (and feel guilty). Sometimes I shorten his name to “Hen”, but my husband glares at me as he rightfully should, as does “Hank”. My middle child, the only girl, is Maggie. She’s actually Margaret, but we call her every variation of Maggie, including Mags, Magaroo, Maga-laga-ding-dong, Magariffic, Maggie May, Magalicious, Maggie Moo, etc. She’s got an awesomely fun name that everyone loves to embellish. Thankfully, she’s game. My youngest is Nathan, though he prefers to go by Nate (easier and faster to spell when you’re in third grade, dying to finish your worksheet so you can get out to recess). We’ve also taken to calling him Natey-O, the Natorator, N-Dog, and the Natester. For now, Nate is eight (years old). I love the rhyme and I never want him to grow out of this age…literally or figuratively.
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I love that y’all have eleventeen-hundred nicknames.
It speaks to a kind of intimacy. An expansiveness.
I love how Nate is eight.
And he’ll always be great.
I’m guessing that will stick. 😉
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Love it! You know what my nearly seven year old came out with the other day? He was singing the green bottle song, and he sang: ‘infinity green bottles standing on the wall, infinity green bottles standing on the wall, and if infinity green bottles should accidently fall, there’d be minus infinity green bottles standing on the wall!’
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How does he know about negative numbers? That is just wrong?
Can you say “math genius”?
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You’ll know Renée that kids often understand far more than conventional education expects them to … he is pretty good at maths though 🙂
By the way, how long have you been blogging? You’ve got quite a following, I’m impressed! Tell me how you did it … 🙂
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It is interesting to read your post. 😀
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Great narration ! My Dad call mostly call me Mon (means Son).I call my 6 year old nephew Chreiya manusha (which means the little fellow ).
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Where are you from? I love to learn about different word origins. I will have to come over to your blog to see if I can figure it out! 😉
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My Dad still calls me Ninky (with variations of Ninkydoodle, Nick Nack Paddy Wack etc etc) and has done for as long as I can remember – though the change came when I stopped whining about what he called me and just grinned at him. I know he’s playing around with my name and I find its a sign I’m home when he gives me a huge bearhug and calls me his Ninky.
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How wonderful: to be someone’s Ninky. *sigh*
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Wow… loved your post! I have an almost two-year-old niece. I never thought she’d outgrow being called a li’l fish until I read this!
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Keep that L’il Fish thang going as long as she’ll let you.
You never know. My nephew, now in college, still lets me call him Alley Cat. And his sister, my niece, lets me call her Audge-Podge.
I hope I can kiss both of them at their weddings and whisper their nicknames in their ears. 😉
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heehee! Our fifth kept on giving himself nicknames…”Call me Silver, Dad!” is how it began on a beach in Florida. He went from Silver, to Chad, to Chongy to Jonny. He lost a lot of phone calls that would come in. “Hi – may I speak to Chad?” sorry wrong number…!
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Hilarious how he renames himself! How much do I love that.
Of course, if he was your FIFTH *you are amazing* I guess he had to do something to stand out from the crowd! 😉
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Exactly what we said. He chose to “own” his identity through the names.
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Actually, that’s a rather creative thing to do. Maybe he has his sights set on being an actor.
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Hi Karl:
I’m pretty sure that his plan as of now involves: bringing his wife to live with us while he goes to make computer apps for Apple. 😉
But he is definitely an actor. Oy!
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Love your site! I have always called my son “peanut”, but now that he is 8 I need to find a new name. I called him when he was with his “cool” friends and I got the look……I can’t be the mom that embarrasses him, but habbits are hard to break. 🙂
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I hope that Tech Support is never embarrassed by me. Especially when I am dancing on tables and stuff. 😉
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Maybe he realized that he is an ape, not a monkey.
My son prefers his first name, no nicknames are allowed ;-(
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No nicknames. Ever? *wrapping brain around concept* Hmmmm.
I think that in this family that would play out with my son being bombarded with eleventeen-hundred nicknames. I would start calling him regular other names.
“Oh, hi John,” I’d say casually — assuming that was NOT his name.
“‘Sup Pete?” I could have a lot of fun with that. 😉
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I have three boys and have referred to them as sugar-bear, boyos, sugar-booger (which my husband put an end to as it made him feel nauseated) and sweet thang. They are all big, burly, teenage football player now and I all get away with all of those names at home. Sometimes as I get overly excited in cheering for their games I can’t hold back calling out, “Run, baby!”
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Okay, that is what I get for trying to comment from my phone before I have my contacts in to remedy my inability to see and hit the proper tiny letter key. I meant to say football players, as there are three boys. And I get away with those names at home. I also assume that I don’t get scolded for the references to them as baby from the bleachers because they don’t hear me. Even though I have been told several times by parents and coaches that I have a very healthy set of lungs. One should not sit near a vocally trained mom that knows the game and loves her players.
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I love that you cheer for them. I’m a cheerer, too. I can’t help it. If I’m not allowed to cheer, I can’t even go. 😉
Run, baby, run! 😉
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it’s great 😀
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So pretty! nice post!
Take a look and follow me if you like
Cosa mi metto???
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My mother always called me Angeril Turnip. I have no idea why but I still really like it…..
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Angeril Turnip. That is excellent! She would be a great character in a book. It was definitely used as an endearment, yes?
Like she wouldn’t yell: “Angeril Turnip, you go and clean up your room this moment!”
No, she wouldn’t. 😉
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Well certainly if he is old and genius enough to fix excel formulas…he definitely has outgrown his “monkey-phase”. You just might have a future computer genius/billionaire in your hands! ;o)
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He’s been doing my Excel formulas since he was 7 years old. How wrong is that? He just gets technology in a way that I don’t.
Crazy.
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you have such a gorgeous blog! i really look up to people like you. It’s an outlook thing… something about balancing caring deeply and being nonplussed. regards.
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I think you have confused me for someone else. I do have a positive outlook, but I also am known to be a total twit and screw up. I do it all the time.
All. The. Time.
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Ahh yes, monkeys. My 22 month old is obsessed with monkeys. He watches Curious George 2 on Netflix everyday, multiple times!!! I’ve tried all types of other entertainment but he’ll have none of it. I need tech support!
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Don’t you just love Curious George? So fantastic! And so adorable.
But now he-who-shall-not-be-named is gone. Poof.
Enjoy your little guy while he is young. One day, he won’t want Curious George anymore. He’ll want to watch Saturday Night Live. And then you will want to cry. 😉
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Cute story. At home my 12 year old daughter doesn’t care if I call her bug (which is the nickname both of my kids have) but in public I have to call her by name.
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Ah yes, the “coolness” factor.
At home it’s fine to be all intimate, but not in public mom. Duh! 😉
Luckily, my kids doesn’t mind if I call him other names in public.
Probably.
If he does, he just endures it. 😉
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Great post…love this!!
When our youngest son was born, and during his “little” years, I called him “Sugar Bear”. It’s common, I know, but it fit him perfectly. When he began to play in community sports leagues, I shortened it to just “Bear” as I am sure he would have cringed, and maybe even disowned me, at hearing me yell “Go Sugar Bear!” from the sidelines…LOL LOL
I remember one afternoon as we were all watching him play in a Coach Pitch baseball game. His team had done well, and when he met up with the rest of us after the game, I said something like, “Way to go, Bear!” At that moment, one of the other player’s Dad echoed my encouragment by saying, “Yeah, way to go, Bear!”, to which my son immediately replied, “You can’t call me that. Only my mom can call me that!”
Needless to say, I felt pretty special. Now he’s all grown up, working and saving for school, so the nickname stuff as halted; but on occasion as my husband and I are taking inventory of the day before heading to bed, I’ll ask him, “Have you heard from the Bear?”, to which he simply replies “yes” or “no” as he is well aware that any effort to correct me would seriously interrupt my attempt to hang onto my memories of our children’s “little years”.
Thank you for sharing, & congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
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Hi Renee!
From one Renee to another, I say hooray that your Bear is all grown up.
You did something very right… proud Momma Bear. 😉
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My parents have no nickname for me. I’m Robert to them.
My 16 year old brother is still sometimes called “baby” by my mother as in “where is the baby?” Or else, she might call him “my sweet.” My father calls him “Jeffey-boy.”
Unlike Monkey, this does not bother Jeff. Any teasing from his friends over the baby nickname is rare and generally taken in stride. It doesn’t bother him at all.
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Isn’t it weird how each kid is different?
If you were my kid, I would totally Italianize you.
You would be Roberto to me. 😉
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Found you through Freshly Pressed and loved this. My husband calls our little guy “ratoncito” in Spanish, which roughly translates to “little mouse” in English. . . interesting how language affects which nicknames we might choose. Now, at 20 months, if you ask where the little mouse is, he points to himself.
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How cute is that? Now I love your ratoncito, too.
Muchas gracias for visiting. 😉
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Sorry I’m so late. I’m a decade older than the mother of your monkey, but I’m known as “la niña de Elena”, the daughter of my awesome mother. I’m sure IT can help you with that translation. Congratulations on FP. Wonderful post!
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oops! TS
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This is good. I used to be “Tech Support” for my parents… That got old pretty quickly. Old dog…..New tricks….
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You are so right; he’s getting pretty annoyed with me. This morning he had to show me how to set up a table in Word.
My prediction is that by next year, he will have ditched me.
I’m working on learning those new tricks. 😉
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I love it! So glad I finally got a chance to check out your blog. This post was so sweet and beautifully written. I can’t wait for the day my kids become tech support for my blog. Well, maybe I can. I’m enjoying the monkey phase too much. 🙂
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Don’t rush the monkey stage. It all stopped in a day. A day I tell you.
I wasn’t ready.
I’m so pleased to meet you. You are one helluva writer.
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Great post! My 4-year-old son loves Curious George, but currently switches identities about every 45 minutes between “Lightning, The Queen” (he’s sure that’s what the character is called) and Buzz Lightyear. “Mama, I’m not Buzz Lightyear anymore; I’m tired of flying.” “Mama, I’m done racing, I’m not The Queen anymore.”
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That’s a lot of homework for a 7th grader!
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I have a 2 1.5 year old boy that I call Monkey too. I dread the day that he asks me to stop calling him that. I sure hope it never does. Great blog!
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I actually read this when I was away on vacation but I’m just now getting around to commenting!
I love the new nickname! My kids are all still very happy with theirs, even my 8th grade princess. She isn’t really much of a typical “princess” type so I never really thought the name fit, but she is my only girl so that makes her the “princess of the house” no matter how practical and undemanding she is. 🙂
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