What's in a name?
The answer to the question above? Not much, if you're my mother.
Regina has a propensity for mangling not only sentences and word fragments, but names, too. Names of people in her family, including her children; people we've befriended over the years; famous people.
Her favorite actress, for instance, is Meryl Street. That's right, Street. Now, you would think that Meryl Streep has been around long enough to have her name planted firmly and correctly in my mother's mind. You would be wrong. Then again, this is the woman who once called my infant son Paul Chuck. Who was Chuck, you ask? No idea.
When we were kids and she called us for something, you'd never know which of the five of us she meant. "ChristinaPatriciaAngelaTommyDavid, whatever your name is, get over here!" So we'd wonder, which one of us did she mean? But it didn't matter, since any one of us could end up cleaning the bathroom or washing the dishes.
Our children's names get mangled, too, though in fairness she hasn't known them as long. And she doesn't distinguish from gender either. David could become Nicole. Katie might be briefly known as Joseph. One of them might be mistakenly referred to as Maggie, the name of my brother's dog. The other pets are not spared: my dog's name is Baker, but she often refers to him as Roxie, the name of a female terrier she no longer has.
We have good family friend named Shirley, yet my mother always calls her Myrtle. At least she's consistent on that one. She once called a store saleswoman Catty instead of Kathy. Our recent president? Barama. And she had two terms to get used to that one.
You'd think this name game would be the result of her advanced age of 85. Nope, she's been doing it for decades. Perhaps it's the lack of sleep: Mom sleeps fitfully during the night and rises at 5:30. We've considered that situation and recommended she take fewer naps during the day so she will sleep through the night. Her own theory? Sleep apathy.
So yes, she's indifferent to sleep. How did we miss that?
Regina has a propensity for mangling not only sentences and word fragments, but names, too. Names of people in her family, including her children; people we've befriended over the years; famous people.
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| That's Katie to you |
Her favorite actress, for instance, is Meryl Street. That's right, Street. Now, you would think that Meryl Streep has been around long enough to have her name planted firmly and correctly in my mother's mind. You would be wrong. Then again, this is the woman who once called my infant son Paul Chuck. Who was Chuck, you ask? No idea.
When we were kids and she called us for something, you'd never know which of the five of us she meant. "ChristinaPatriciaAngelaTommyDavid, whatever your name is, get over here!" So we'd wonder, which one of us did she mean? But it didn't matter, since any one of us could end up cleaning the bathroom or washing the dishes.
Our children's names get mangled, too, though in fairness she hasn't known them as long. And she doesn't distinguish from gender either. David could become Nicole. Katie might be briefly known as Joseph. One of them might be mistakenly referred to as Maggie, the name of my brother's dog. The other pets are not spared: my dog's name is Baker, but she often refers to him as Roxie, the name of a female terrier she no longer has.
We have good family friend named Shirley, yet my mother always calls her Myrtle. At least she's consistent on that one. She once called a store saleswoman Catty instead of Kathy. Our recent president? Barama. And she had two terms to get used to that one.
You'd think this name game would be the result of her advanced age of 85. Nope, she's been doing it for decades. Perhaps it's the lack of sleep: Mom sleeps fitfully during the night and rises at 5:30. We've considered that situation and recommended she take fewer naps during the day so she will sleep through the night. Her own theory? Sleep apathy.
So yes, she's indifferent to sleep. How did we miss that?
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