"As one child put it “I dislike nicknames – people use them to imply your character…”. Managing a nickname is one of the more fateful of social skills. Nicknames can serve not only as thumbnail character sketches, of illustrations of quirks of personality and physical appearance, but as capsule histories too, selecting and amplifying some moment in the life course that stands out as striking."
There are just some people who seem to "collect" nicknames whether they intend to or not. I haven't spent a lot of time trying to figure out if it is the actual person (and personality) that "asks" to be given a nickname or if it is the name given to a child that determines the "nickname-ability" of the person. Perhaps it is a combination of both.
What I do know is that I am a collector of nicknames. Some I love and have been given in love. Others are funny and a laugh usually follows the delivery of the name. And still others, are names that make me feel a bit sheepish and a bit defensive. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the name highlights some character trait that I am not especially proud of. At one time, I sat down and created a list of the nicknames that I have collected. I had more than a dozen. Here is just a sampling:
Nand - the name given to me by my family and the only name my younger brother knew until he was about 6 (when he found out I had a "real" name). This name makes me feel loved and cared for.
Nandy - another version of the above
Annie - The name that my closest of friends call me and one that I relate to. This name gives me a sense of belonging and reminds me that I have a really wonderful group of people in my life
Peg - A nickname given to me by a good friend and former manager who felt that my appearance in the early 1990's was very much like that of "Peg Bundy" from "Married with Children". Almost 20 years later, I am still Peg even though I have lost the big red hair, and even bigger red lipstick.
Double A - Another name given to me by friends and co-workers that represented my initials (using my maiden name). To this group of friends and former co-workers, I am still Double A despite being married and no longer having AA as my intials.
Kid - A name my husband and I use for each other. Origin - unclear
Spatch - A portion of my last name (maiden) and one only used by a handful of old high-school friends
Pinenut - Yes, 'tis true. This is a real nickname. Coined my closest friend, who moved from Vancouver almost 10 years ago. Since we were so far away from each other, I would often tell her that I was pining for her. Being the crazy soul she is, she once said that my face shape reminded her of a pinenut and since I "pine" for her, she will call me "Pinenut". I have to admit, I kind of like this nickname since it is only my friend that uses it and it makes me feel connected to her despite the physical distance between us.
The last nickname is clearly related to the opening of this blog as it is a name that I am not especially proud of and it obviously acts as a "character sketch" for the person that is woken up each morning by her two lovely children and husband. Blind Dragon is the lovely nickname that my husband bestowed upon me between two and three years ago based on a combination of my physical appearance in the morning and my obvious demeanor.
The thing is, this name is appropriate. I have to admit it. The combination of my incredibly poor eyesight (I cannot see anything without contacts) and my terrible moods in the morning have earned me this name. Each morning our Queen-sized bed is overflowing with my husband, my two children (who have joined us upon waking up) and our cat. While some might think this sounds charming and wonderful, I couldn't me more cranky about it. As I toss my head from side to side, trying to see who is talking and who has their elbow in my side and I "crank" about still being tired and really wishing that I could have 10 minutes more to sleep, I can only imagine that short of the fire shooting from my nostrils, I couldn't look more like a "Blind Dragon".
So, while collecting nicknames is rather entertaining it is also a exercise in humility and today, after my cranking this morning, I am a rather humble dragon...
