14
Boomers
Mid January - Mid February 2014
Yummy’s Corner By Cindy Dean
They call you what? They call you what? There was a time when grandparents were called Granny, Grandpa, Grandmother and Grandfather. Today, there are so many other names we go by. Some are really unusual such as Yummy (yes, my grandson calls me Yummy) to NaNa, MeMe, Me Maw, Paw Paw, Pee Paw, Gramps, Pops. The list goes on and on. I find that the new names are endearing, more personal. I always told myself that I would never be called Granny. I had a Granny and didn’t want to compare myself to her. (I would never come close to her as a grandmother, she was the best). I thought that first it would do my Granny’s memory a disservice and I thought I was too young to be a Granny. I know of other people that feel just the opposite, they want to be called the same as their grandparent for sentimental reasons. Sudie Gam-
brell, publisher of the Gulf Coast Newspapers, said that she loves the idea of being called the same as the grandmother who she loved so much. Nathan came up with the name Yummy on his own. When he was about a year and a half, I was making him some pudding and I told him it was yummy and from that moment on he has called me Yummy. I kinda like it. When I hear someone yell Yummy, I know that it’s for me. I have never heard of any others called that. What do your grandchildren call you? The stories are so vast as to how they come up with names for us. No matter what they call us though, it is sweet sounding to our souls. Has anyone else ever noticed that you can be in a crowd of people and a child can yell mom or grandma and the correct parent will respond? We instinctively know the sound of our
children and grandchildren. With the many different names we are being called today, it makes it even easier to know when they are calling us. Doesn’t it make that special place in your heart get a little warm and fuzzy when they call you or need you for something — to know that you are the one they turned to. I like the name that my parents gave me (with the exception that I’ve had to overcome the stigma that all Cindy’s are ditzy blondes.) But I love my name Yummy. I can hear him across the daycare yelling my name when I pick him up in the evenings. I also hear it at 3:00 in the morning when he wants a drink, when he can’t find his favorite cartoon on or when he wants cookies but at the end of the day though. I am still his Yummy and he is still my Nater-bug.