Becoming Cammy, a Cool Grandma
Dear new grandmothers,
This is so exciting! And harder than I thought it was going to be. I’m becoming a grandmother! My first grandbaby is on the way! My daughter is expecting our first grandchild and all I want to do is be involved in every single minute and in every single experience! Whoa, lady! That’s not your place!
There is pretty much only one thing I can possibly “control” right now and it’s the hardest thing – coming up with a grandmother name. My husband will be called Poppa. Done deal. Me? Not that easy!
I have to have a grandma name and I have to have it now! I’m talking to the baby, so how am I supposed to introduce myself? “Hi sweet baby, this is…umm, your mother’s mother.” So I need a special name and I never realized that it was going to be so hard to pick out a grandmother name!
Now, I’m aware I can allow the grandkids to name me themselves as they grow up and learn to talk. And if this child decides to change my name along the way that’s okay. I’ll love whatever she comes up with and I’ll love it dearly. But right now I will not be known as “her” or “that woman”, so this name thing, it’s pretty hard. There are obvious choices like grandmommy, grandmother, and mawmaw but they don’t reflect me. They don’t reflect who I am. I mean seriously, I’m way too young and cool to be grandmother dearest! I need a grandmother name that’s creative and reflects “me”. Something original, special, creative, and unique to me. Is that really asking too much?!
The “unique” qualification eliminates almost everything that’s popular these days. There are plenty of double names out there – Mimi, CeCe, GiGi – those seem to be all the rage right now. And they’re perfectly good grandmother names so don’t get me wrong, I like every one of them. My name is Carol I could easily be CeCe (or CiCi). But, and this is a big but, CeCe doesn’t really fit me – doesn’t really have a ring to it for me.
The other grandmothers (the MILs of my children) are both GiGi. Well, if I choose CeCe this poor child will have a GiGi and a CeCe and that just might be too much for any little kid! Why did this turn out to be so hard? It’s just a name!
She has to call me something – I can’t be nameless! I’ve been on what seems like a million different websites looking for cool grandma names and making a list of the ones that pass muster. The list was narrowed down and sent to the family. How quickly some of the names were rejected (my children have strong opinions) and thrown away! Okay, that’s helpful kids, but I still need a grandma name.
Her children rise up and call her blessed. Prov. 31:28
That’s it! My grandmother name can be Blessed….That’s a joke, folks. I really am blessed but that’s not my grandma name.
Lordy, thank goodness for my creative girls who began blending words together. My name is Carol. I’m a mom. I’m going to be a grandmother, or a grandmaw if you will. That blending brainstorming led to Cara, Carrie, Mom- Mom, Mama C, Cara, and finally….. Cammy! That’s the mix between Carol and Grammy. Its Cammy! That’s it, that’s me! I’m Carol, I’m the grammy. I’m Cammy! To any other “Cammy’s” out there, good choice!
Now, finally, I can talk to that precious baby in a belly, put my hands on that belly and say “Hey sweet baby, this is Cammy. I’m going to love you forever and I can’t wait to meet you.” And you know what? If someday when the sweet little girl begins toddling around and talking, she looks up at me and calls me by a different name, well then, Cammy will evolve. But for right now I’m quite happy. I finally have a GRANDMA NAME! Hey everyone, I’m Cammy…
Enjoy the journey,
