I neeeeeeeeeed it, Mer!

Being that my name (which is Meredith) is more than just one syllable, naturally I have had a few nicknames over the years. When I was younger, most people called me Merrie...but I got sick of everyone thinking my name was "Mary" since that was how most people said it, so in high school (when we moved to Colorado) I switched to Meredith.

A lot of people just call me Mer. I can count the number of times this nickname has bothered me on two fingers. The first time was when someone misunderstood how "Mer" is spelled and wrote it down as "Mare." The second time was when a boy in my seventh grade French class pointed out that "Mer" is pronounced just like the French translation for a certain cuss word (the "s" one, if you must know).

Someone new has started calling me Mer and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.

He's three feet tall and is still wearing diapers.

Yes, Braden is now referring to me as "Mer".

I blame myself partly. Sometime in the last few months he has become a little chatterbox. I try to respond every time he yells "Look, truck!" or "Need juice!" but occasionally I miss a comment or two and he needs to let me know that I didn't actually see that big yellow truck that just drove by us. So his methods for getting my attention have been evolving. At some point he must have noticed that whenever Dad needs me, he just says, "Mer" and I pay attention (had he been observing closely he might have also noticed that his dad doesn't "request" my attention every 3.5 seconds and this is, in part, why "Mer" works so well).

So the other day Tom and I were talking and suddenly I hear someone say, "Mer! Mer!" Naturally it took me a second to figure out who was shouting this because usually people who call me this are at my eye level or above.

"I neeeeeeeeed it, Mer!"

This time I knew he was talking to me.

"Yes, Braden? What do you neeeeeed?"

I don't remember what he needed now but he definitely got my attention. And pretty much every time he has tried it out since he has also gotten my attention, mostly just because it is really odd for a little man like him to be calling me anything besides "Mommy".

Yeah, I guess I better explain that "Mommy" or "Mom" would be a better choice.

Maybe later.

Right now, "Thomas" is helping him get ready for bed.