By Paula Munier
What is your grandparent nickname?
Grandma. Grams. Granny. Nana. Nani. Nonnee . . . Nanoo. Nanoo.
Okay, so I stole those last two from Mork from Ork. But the point is, when it comes to deciding what you’d like to be called now that you’re a grandmother, the sky—if not the universe—is the limit. Weirdness abounds—and not just on Ork. I’ve heard of grandmothers called Mummica, Wipper, even Dumpsy.
In our family, my parents set the stage for unusual names. My mother refused to be called Grandma, so she insisted on Grandmaman which we pronounce with the French accent that narrows the mouth in the first syllable, eliminates the ‘d’ and emphasizes long ‘a’s—in honor her Alsatian roots. Plus, she liked the way it sounded. My father, better known as The Colonel, chose Papa Colonel, pulling rank even on his own grandchildren.
Paula Munier is a writer, literary agent, and yoga teacher. Her books include Fixing Freddie,5-Minute Mindfulness, and Plot Perfect.She lives in a lakeside cottage with her second ex-husband (a story for another time), a very bad beagle, and a cat. She lives for visits with her three kids and two grandkids, not necessarily in that order.
To learn about more grandparent nicknames, click here