OT April Chit Chat

[nuthatch]

Congratulations Agate! Grandchildren add so much to our lives.
Have you decided what name you want to be called by the new little one? I chose Nana, not to be confused with the other grandmother, who is called Grandma, but there are so many other grandmother names to choose from too. When I was a child, my grandparents on my father's side were referred to as Noni and Papa, and my grandparents on my mother's side were referred to as Gram and Gramps. Who will you be?
Hope you'll share more pictures soon.

Hope everyone is feeling a bit better today.

[Pegakafarmgirl]

Mizz Joanie this is so kewl,, so happy for the parents and the grandma,,

Virginia,, oh no,, you have to feel better soon,, sorry you got the crud,and I haven't been able to move my toes either, due to MS,,

We got 2 inches of snow today,, they forecasted 6,, glad they got that wrong,, spring will come,, someday

[agate]

nuthatch, I never realized that I might get to choose what William will call me. Guess I thought William's parents would decide that. I'll definitely ask about it and get it settled so as to avoid mixups. My DIL's mother will probably be the more important grandma in his life since she has experience (two grandkids already) and lives near them--and is more mobile than I am.

[Virginia]

Agate, again congratulations! Since the other Grandma has two already and they would already be calling her something, you might have to find out what it is before you think about your name.

Rose, Peg and all thanks for the well wishes. I am still having a bad day, but I am trying.

[Sunshine]

Might as well crow about this here in addition to shouting it on Facebook. I'm a grandma now.

William weighed only 4.9 lbs. (3 weeks early) at birth but is home with his parents now after a week in the neonatal ICU. My son and DIL are absolutely delighted and are introducing William to the family dog and 5 cats as I understand it. William was adopted through an open adoption, and everything seems to be going along well.

Wow! Fresh Life and a new grandma! Congratulations!

[Catdancer]

I never had grandparents -- they all died before I came along. I always thought it was the child and parents who came up with the name, not the grandparents?

[agate]

I have no memory of the grandfather who was alive till I was 2, and no other grandparents either. But this child actually has 4 grandmas, 3 of them apparently making things for him. The birth father isn't in the picture (so far anyway) and so I don't know about the 4th grandma. The baby will be the most blanketed baby on the block at this rate though.

Seriously, there are never enough baby blankets.

Yes, I always thought that the parents and the child decided on names for relatives and anyone else. I'm gladly leaving it completely up to them.

[nuthatch]

My daughter asked me what name I wanted to be referred to as a grandparent before Tula was born. After some thought, I chose Nana. Tula's other grandmother is called Grandma. Tula knows who is who, no confusion for her. It's usually the parents who refer to the different grandparents by Grandma or whatever they called their own grandparent, usually without much thought or input. I remember other kids referring to their grandparent as Grandma Trump (okay, I'm just being funny using THAT last name, insert any last name), or Grandma T and the other grandmother as Grandma Pence or Grandma P.
I would imagine it can get very confusing for a little one, especially with multiple sets of grandparents.

Whatever you're called, it's a blessing to be a grandparent. Because of the distance between us, I don't get to see the grandchildren often, but I talk and sing to them on the phone weekly. My daughter tells me Tula asks to call Nana often, sometimes when she first wakes up in the morning before I'm even up. I wish that their internet connection was better so that I could Skype with her and see her in person and vise versa, but since they live in the mountains, the connection is very spotty. Skype is great, especially for those who live distances apart or are unable to travel. Years ago, when my nephew was young, I used to Skype with him every evening to help him with his math homework. It's great to get to see the child as they change and grow. It all happens so fast!

[Virginia]

My brother called this afternoon and said that the son of a family that lived next door to us when we lived about 125 miles from Raleigh found him somehow and got in touch with him.

This man's sister and I were best friends when we were in grammar school. I have not seen her since age 13 or 14. He told my brother that she would just love for me to call her. She has had no idea what my last name is now and did not know where I lived or how to find me. My brother took down her phone number and I told him I would call her in the next couple of days. She was a very nice young girl and actually our families were pretty close back then. The last thing I heard from her was when my Mother died and her Mother talked to me by phone. This was in 1975. She told me that Edith was then living in Charlotte, N.C., married with a couple of children. So, I will talk to her soon.

[Howie]

Well what were the different names for grandfathers? My one grandfather died before I was born. My other grandfather I barely remember. He didn't particularly care for kids. He loved fishing, and took us with him one time, and once he showed us where to fish, he took off downstream to fish away from us kids. He died when I was about 5.

[stillstANNding]

I had three grandfathers. At least I thought so. One was a great-grandfather. They were Grandpap M, Grandpap C and Pap-pap. And they lived next door to each other. My dad married the girl next door. ;-) And we lived 3 streets away. And an aunt and uncle w their three kids lived 4 houses away from us. I got the village experience someone here (Agate?) was talking about.

The little girl next door is 6 and has already lost all of her grandparents. I am very thankful to had five and not lose any until I was 13 and lost the last one in my early fifties.

ANN

[nuthatch]

Howie, I've heard lots of different names for grandfathers too. As I said, my grandfathers were called Papa (my father's father) and Gramps (my mother's father). Never knew any of my great grandparents. Papa died when I was 7, Gramps died when I was 15.
Some other grandfather names I've heard . . . Pops, Pappi, Grandaddy or Grandad. I once had a boyfriend that was Dutch Indonesian, who called his grandfather Umpa.
My own kids started calling my father-in-law Grumpa instead of Grampa because at times he was pretty grouchy!
I think a lot of grandparent names are what's easy for a little one to say, almost baby-talk.
I googled and this site came up. Shows some origins of names.
Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

[agate]

My brother called this afternoon and said that the son of a family that lived next door to us when we lived about 125 miles from Raleigh found him somehow and got in touch with him.

This man's sister and I were best friends when we were in grammar school. I have not seen her since age 13 or 14. He told my brother that she would just love for me to call her. She has had no idea what my last name is now and did not know where I lived or how to find me. My brother took down her phone number and I told him I would call her in the next couple of days. She was a very nice young girl and actually our families were pretty close back then. The last thing I heard from her was when my Mother died and her Mother talked to me by phone. This was in 1975. She told me that Edith was then living in Charlotte, N.C., married with a couple of children. So, I will talk to her soon.

Virginia, it's amazing how people can pop up again after so many years. I've been in touch by letter for about 10 years now with a woman I knew as a girl in school. We last saw each other in 1953!

And on the Internet I found someone who lived next door to me as a child--again, someone I'd last seen in 1953. He lived next door. Not "the boy next door" but more like a kid brother. I check in with him on Facebook now and then, with occasional e-mails. He was married, had 5 kids, and recently remarried and seems to be having a good time enjoying dachshunds. He was a nice person as a child and still is.

It's hard to find women because so often our last names changed!

[Howie]

I do remember my dad's grandparents. Mommy and Poppy was all they were ever called. They were just as country as a turnip green, but really nice folks.

[agate]

We called our mother Ma, and my sister called her Muz. My mother called her mother Mama. I don't remember Mommy being used much when I was a kid but my kids' generation used Mommy or Mom routinely.