Proust #31 What are your favourite names?
I’ve been waiting for this one! Every time I had a Proust question that I knew was going to be tough, I’d think “Just wait until #31, that’ll be easy.” And now, here I am, #31 and I’ve realized that if I answer this question at face value, there will only be one more sentence in this post. So I’m thinking a little harder.
I’ve been called lots of names in my life. Some of them were not so nice. They were hurtful, meant to be hurtful, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some scars because of them. But Proust didn’t ask about those names and I try not to dwell on them, because frankly, they still sting a bit. It’s something to save for another day though, because today I get to tell you what my favourite names are! The names I love to be called, the ones I’m most proud of.
I was given my first favourite name when I was just barely 20 years old and a man I adored called me ‘Wife’. I hardly knew what it meant but I knew that I loved it and I was proud to have it!
Not too long after that, I was given another name that melted my heart when a little brown-eyed boy called me ‘Mom’. (You should see me now, getting tears in my eyes, remembering…)
And just a few years ago, I was given maybe my most favourite name of all…’Gramma’. Actually, that one I had some input into and it started as ‘Nana’ because that’s what my boys call my own Mom. It’s changed to Gramma for the most part now, but my oldest grandson has a special name for me. You’ll laugh. He calls me…
Black Nana.
And those of you who haven’t heard that before are sitting there thinking “Black Nana? Cathy, you’re not black.” I know. Not a single one of us knows why he calls me that. We wonder though, why this beautiful little boy calls me Black Nana. I don’t really care why. It makes me laugh, it sure makes other people laugh!
These names are pretty exclusive. Only one man gets to call me Wife. Only two people call me Mom. Only a precious few will call me Gramma. But only one will ever call me Black Nana.
Names set us apart. They give us part of our identity. They help to define us. Wife, mother, gramma, sister, daughter, friend. Those are all names I am called, all names I am proud to be called, all names I love. These names are my favourite!
