The Most random entry ever

[susandennis]

I called my mother, Mommy and referred to her as my mother or my mom. Until I got older and then I called her Mom. I called my father, Daddy and referred to him as my father or my dad and still do. This was pretty much what my brother and sister called them as well. (Except somewhere along the way to adulthood, my brother started to always refer to him as 'father'.)

My parents both referred to and called their parents Mother and Father (although, when she was pissed at him, she sometimes called her father Daddy. "I know that, Daddy! This always cracked me up.)

My parents called each other pretty much by their names - Virginia and Bill. They referred to each other depending on who they were talking to - your father, my wife, etc.

When they had grandchildren, they flipped to calling each other by what their grandchildren called them. Monkey (Mom) and Popeye (Dad).

My cousin (son of my dad's sister and my only cousin) was raised as an only child. He always called his parents by their names. Ray and Kay. That's what they called each other so that's what he called them. My parents did not approve but I never understood why and still don't.

This info slipped into my brain this morning and I need to clear it out so here it is.

Comments

[solteronita.livejournal.com]

It's funny how what people call each other in families can seem so wrong to someone else. My parents called each other their names but would refer to the other one as Mom or Dad when talking to us kids. "Oh, it looks like Dad's home." My maternal grandparents used first names, so my grandpa might tell me to go "ask Jeanne" (my grandma) for something.

Then when my nieces were young I remember being at those grandparents' house for a holiday. My niece wanted a cookie, and before I gave her one I told her, "Go ask your mom if that's okay." And for some reason, my uncle thought it was so hilarious that I called my sister their "mom." But it seemed so normal to me. Shrug!

So..random comment because this is what your entry makes me think of. :D

[xina-g.livejournal.com]

That was the same in our house too. =) My brother and I called our parents Mommy & Daddy. They called each other 'Momma' and 'Daddy' when it was just us(presumably so we wouldn't get confused when we were little), and by their actual names when company was over.
And when talking about them to friends they were always Mom & Dad.
All our cousins would call them Auntie Vera or Uncle Steve.

For my grandparents, we put their last name after Gramma/Grampa. So we'd say something like 'I'm going to Gramma Batchelor's house (my mom's parents lived next door growing up, so we were always going over there. *lol*).
And when talking to them we'd just call them Gramma or Grampa.

Once my parents became grandparents that carried on to them and they were called gramma and grampa as well.
Oh, and even to this day my mom refers to her and my dad as Mommy & Daddy on cards, messages, etc...

It's nice to have little memories like those pop-up. Thank you =)

[sunshine-two.livejournal.com]

I called my mother and father, "mommy" and "daddy" when I was little. When I got older, they became "mom" and "dad". Personally, it would have felt odd to me to call them 'mommy' or, 'daddy' when I was fully grown. I think they would have looked twice at me if I'd done it as well ;)

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Yeah, same here. Well, my mother was "Mother"; I think my brother sometimes called here "Mom", but I'm not sure I ever did, although I think we sometimes referred to them collectively as "Mom and Dad" when talking to each other.

My parents both called both sets of grandparents "Mother" and "Dad". (I have a vague recollection of my father occasionally calling his mother "Ma" when i was very young.)

[carriea31.livejournal.com]

Fun to read this entry and comments. My sister and I always called my dad "daddy", and still do. We called my mom "mommy" for awhile but then when we were older, we called her "mother". That sounds so formal, but it wasn't......

[lifeinroseland.livejournal.com]

That’s so sweet when they switched to Monkey and Popeye! <3

[susandennis]

It actually was. They both took instantly (and, I think, surprisingly to them) to being grandparents and went dived in all the way. Plus the names (given to them by the oldest grandchild) were adorable.

[hopefulspirit.livejournal.com]

I love this entry. It's fun to see how people refer to their parents. Mine were Mom and Dad for as long as I can remember. If I used Mommy or Daddy, I wanted something. LOL My parents called each other 'hon' or babe, they rarely used each others' first names. If they wanted my brother or I to talk to the other parent, they said 'Go ask your Dad', always with your because, as my Mom said to me once, 'He's not my Dad, why would I just say Dad, go ask YOUR Dad' which made me laugh.

My cousins always called my parents Uncle Howard and Aunt Doreen. It's funny to me your cousin called his parents by their first names. In my house that was a big no-no. lol At one point growing up I had four sets of grandparents, we called them Grandma/Grandpa *insert last name here*.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

A lot like my family.

Weird.

[susandennis]

ok you win.

Funniest Comment Ever.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

Monkey and Popeye?

[susandennis]

yeah, the first grandchild started calling them that when he could barely talk. they were keeping him for the first time and my guess is that he was trying to say momma and poppa. But Monkey and Popeye stuck like glue. And suited them perfectly.

[roasted-beets.livejournal.com]

My brothers and sister called our parents Mommie & Daddy until they died and still call them that among ourselves. My parents called each other Honey. The tags on their Christmas gifts said *To Honey, From Honey*.

Once in the grocery store I heard Mommie calling across a couple aisles "Ray!" and had NO idea she was trying to get Daddy's attention. LOL

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Now I am reminded, somewhat tangentially, of the movie "Adam's Rib", in which Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play a husband and wife who call each other "Pinky". Actually, not exactly: Their characters are lawyers who end up on opposite sides of a case, and they get into a shouting match in the courtroom in which they call each other by the nickname, and when the court reporter interrupts to ask whether it's spelled with "y" or "ie", Hepburn quickly replies "'y' for him, 'ie' for me", and then resumes her tirade without missing a beat. One of the greatest moments in moviedom.

[susandennis]

I had totally forgotten about the Pinkie/y scene It was, indeed, a fabulous moment.

[(Anonymous)]

When I turned 5, my mother sat me down and told me that I was too big to call her Mommy and from that time on (she's 95 now) she's been Mother. As in "Honestly, Mother!" when I was a teenager.

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

My mother was always mummy to her face but mother if I spoke about her to others. My father was more complicated. My stepfather’s friend’s daughter called her by her first name and it was odd hearing a 5 year old shout for Margaret

[sleepybadger.livejournal.com]

My mom would call my dad by his name, but my dad always called her "mother". Every once in a while she would get pissed off and snap at him "I'm not your mother!"