Other Names I’ve Been Called
I was watching the 4th of July fireworks – I like to ooh and aah and give them names like “Pistachio Afro” or “Orange Zinnia in a Blender” – when my eldest son said, “Mum, you’re just like Gidget.” I took it as compliment because when I was a girl, I wanted to be either like Gidget or Annie Oakley.
On another occasion, my younger son was mad at me for some reason I can’t remember now. He was fuming. His face was red. He stammered and stuttered and then let this out… “you…you…YOU BIG FAT OLD LADY!” I tried to keep a straight face. I was neither old nor overweight, but there was no sense in mentioning that and risking escalating him further.
Later, when he calmed down, I had to ask (and did not hold back my smile when I did), “Do you remember what you called me?”
“Yeah…well you won’t let us curse,” he answered.
June 7th, 2005 10:35 am
I remember once when my youngest Molly was very angry at me too. We also don’t swear in our home so she too was at a lose for words. What came out of her was: you…you…you…you…you…you…you…you…
and then she walked away unable to articulate just what I should be called.
Kathy
June 7th, 2005 10:39 am
Speaking of words…my dyslexia is showing.
Molly did kinda lose her words but I hope it’s clear that I meant to write:
“…at a *loss* for words.
Kathy
June 7th, 2005 10:57 am
Well, Dylan did try swearing at me once…and he knew he wasn’t going to repeat that mistake. Although I was not a strict parent in a traditional way, I guess I had a strong boundary on that one.
June 7th, 2005 11:32 am
Cute story. My son once told me that I had a pirate’s chest. When I asked him what he meant, he giggled “Sunken”. I was crushed! At that time, I was considerably thinner than I am now, but I wasn’t “sunken”.
June 7th, 2005 2:59 pm
Well, he did have a point there ;0)
June 7th, 2005 11:43 pm
That’s one to tell for years to come!
The other day my 4 yr. old daughter told me I had a big butt. (And I don’t)
June 8th, 2005 9:01 pm
Funny stuff. Guess I’m lucky that I don’t have any children, then. I don’t think my ego could take being called ‘big butt’, ‘sunken chest’, ‘big fat old lady’.