When she really wants something, The Boss calls me by my name.
"Bink! Binky! Biiiiiiiiinky!"
She sits in her high chair and bangs on the tray as she imitates her father. I mean, that has to be where she got it from. He's the one who says my name on a regular basis in her presence. As it happens, it's usually when he wants something, too. Or when he's annoyed. Or when he finds it hard to believe that something I said actually came out of my mouth. "In a withering tone" is the best way to describe the most common utterance of my identifier around these parts.
"Binky!" Today The Boss called me out at the supermarket when I strayed too far from her in search of a plastic bag for the chicken. "Bink. Bink. Binky." She stared at me from her perch in the front of the cart, looking all baby blond and munching on a cookie. "Binky!" she repeated, in between bites.
Call me narcissistic, but there is nothing cuter than hearing my daughter say my name. "Mommy" is well and good, but listening to her fledgling spin on the word I've heard every day for my entire life is even better. Emphasizing the "b" and the "k," the word rolls off her tongue like a bubble, then pops. "Biiiin-ky!"
I know I should set clear boundaries. I should discourage her from using non-mom designations. But, really. It's just too damn cute. So I let her get away with it.
Besides, I don't have to worry what other people think. They just assume she wants her pacifier.
Friday, March 23, 2007
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8 comments:
How handy! Binky and binky. I love when my kids call me by my first name, because it feels like a preview of what's to come when they're grown-ups. That's silly, really, because I guess they'll still call me Mom...
It just sounds grown-up to use someone's first name.
I love it. Sometimes I feel like i am getting away with something, these secret little things w/ my daughter. and then i realize no one is watching and i am my own boss.
it's exhilirating.
When ever I am really pissed with my mother (which is generally most of the time...sadly) I call her by her given name in the most grating voice I can muster.
It is like nails on a chalk board to her every time.
However, if my children chose to call me T, or Big T or Redneck, I'll just smile and answer them. Because it could be worse.
They could be calling me a variety of other names...
How adorable! My boys do it to on occasion, and it is just too cute.
Have I mentioned how sad I will be when lent is over and you don't post everyday? I really really think you should keep it up. It's part of my evening ritual now. Sit down, sometimes with a cocktail, sometimes not, to read and laugh with Binky. You wouldn't want to take that away from me, would you?
I thought not.
Annabel calls us by our first names often. We don't encourage it but we don't discourage it, either. I have no idea where it will lead, but it's really crazy what's in a name.
Some friends of ours, who have children a little older than Annabel, said that they gave their kids' friends the option of calling them Mr. and Mrs. last name or by their first names.
The kids went for the Mr. and Mrs. ... "It would be too weird calling you by your name ... I'm mean, it's like you are trying to be a kid or something."
***SIGH.
Occasionally, I called my mother by her name during our whole time together. Usually, it was comedic in timing.
One day, when she was in the hospital awaiting a procedure, the nurse asked if I was her daughter (privacy protection and all of that). I answered yes.
A few minutes later, they came to take her and I said, 'All right, Karen. I'll see you when you're done.' The nurse spun around and said, 'I thought you said you were her DAUGHTER!' My mom and I both laughed. Try explaining that one to the irrate oncology nurse.
It's taken three years but when my son Gabe called me Andrea for the first time a few weeks ago, I was delighted. My 6 year old nephew still has trouble with my name but my 3 yr old says it clear as a bell. So now, I just ask him when he calls me Andrea, "Who else am I?" and he invariably shouts, "Mama!"
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