MaeLyn's Musings

Yesterday, I was thinking about names, and what they mean. The first name a person is given in this life is bestowed by others at birth. The given name is a reflection of the parents' tastes, hopes, and admirations. It may be the name of a family member or historical figure that the parents admire. It may have a certain meaning, or represent some trait that the parents hope their child will exhibit. As a child grows, he may embrace and love the name he was given, or he may find ways to alter it to suit his own taste, perhaps going by a nickname or a middle name rather than the first given name. The surname a child receives at birth designates the family the child is born into. This surname may change if a child is adopted by a step parent, or into a different family. It occurred to me that the giving of a surname should be a form of contract: It says, "You are my child, you are part of my family and I will take care of you." When a woman gets married, she has the op...

I just found out that, according to Urban Dictionary , a "maelyn" is someone who can't cook. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Were my parents being prophetic? Was the term coined because of me - or someone like me who has limited cooking skills? Who came up with the term, anyway??? I'm feeling a bit insulted.

I mentioned once that Hannah likes to make up nicknames for her brothers. For some time now she has had a nickname for John that she keeps adding to. What amazes me is that she consistently comes up with nearly the same thing every time she calls him by this name. Here it is: JohnnyWonnyOrigamiBonnyBigBottomousBonBonsPanzercrappitasticaBonechomperFluffiLuffa-JohnicornSmallGreenStomperJoshJoshJoshJoshJoshPopcornBubblegumSquidLauncherPandaOhYeah (Khaerelikoblephaireglukemeilchephreidos'denougany TikitikitemboNosaremboHippopotomonstro-sesquipedaliophobia)  I had to get her to type it for me because I can't remember it all. She can't say the last bit in the parenthesis yet, but she thinks it. (She says to give bonus points to anyone who recognizes the words in the parenthesis.) She calls Peter, "Potato" and Josh is just "Josh-o".