Names are a tricky thing when you have kids. I’m not talking about choosing names. No, I’m talking about remembering the names you’ve already chosen - especially when you have more than one child.My mom chose to combine the first two letters of my sister’s name with mine and vice versa, so my name was, and still is, Sh-Tam. It makes me sound like a superhero. Look!  It’s Sh-Tam! The woman who can multi-task at the speed of light!

My grandfather chose to run through the whole list of grandchildren in birth order, regardless of gender. I have 11 cousins and I’m at the younger end so it took awhile for grandpa to remember who I was.

My method is similar to my grandfather’s but with a slight twist. Since I only have two kids I shouldn’t have a problem, but to get to my daughter’s name I find myself first saying my nephew’s name (notice the difference in gender) then our dog’s name (the dog has been dead for almost ten years now) and finally Sugar’s name. 

For some reason, when Buddy came along I didn’t just lengthen the list, I changed it altogether. For Buddy I say my husband’s name, then Sugar and then I add “Whoever you are.” Now, I say this with a smile so he knows I’m kidding, but apparently my husband does the same thing. So now my son walks into a room and says, “Dad - Mom - whoever you are.”

I wonder what he’ll call his kids.