What's in a Name?

Missy's full name is Missy Mae Baumann. All of my girl cousins on my mom's side have "M" middle names. Since Missy is my child replacement, I stuck with the theme. In fact, she has the same middle name as my cousin Elyssa. Elyssa's middle name is the same as her maternal grandmother's name. So there's a little fun family fact.

Missy goes by several names: Missy, Missy Mae, Miss, Missers and of course my favorite, the Missaroo. Missy is so smart that it really is the "Miss" part of her name that she response to. Most people name their pets with a "y" ending thinking that's the part they hear and understand. Not my Missaroo. You yell "Miss" and she turns her head. But there is one nickname she has that I am trying to get rid of. I mentioned it in our very first post as her most recent nickname, Shmishmishmoo.

This was not a nickname I gave her, but I'm the only one who still uses it. The man who shall remain nameless started calling her that, and well, it just stuck. I've even use Shmish and shmishers. But it needs to stop. If I can eliminate the habit of calling her by those names it's another moving on victory for me. Obviously, that's still a work in progress, because if you have to mention it you aren't over it. It might not seem like a big deal to still use it, but it is. It's me holding on.

It's one tiny step at a time. I wish I could move faster, but there's too many thoughts rolling around in my head for that. This is what happens when I don't get answers to questions I'm too afraid to even ask. Well that's another blog for another day. In the meantime, I'm sticking to the Missaroo like glue!