A Lady in Defiance

Nov 8, 20101 min

Moo-Moo?! The Things Grandmothers Have to Put up With

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Both of my stories have to do with what I call my grandmothers.  Before
 

 
the grandkids were born, my extended family would go to the beach every
 

 
summer.  One year they all drew nicknames out of a hat just for fun.
 

 
They were silly names like Noo-Noo and such.  My grandmother pulled out
 

 
Moo-Moo, and it just kind of stuck.  I was the first grandchild on that
 

 
side, and from the time I was born she wasn’t known as Grandma or Mama,
 

 
just Moo-Moo.  Now everyone refers to her as such, and though she
 

 
doesn’t greatly appreciate it, it’s just a fun piece of family
 

 
folklore.  We often give her gag gifts that have to do with cows to add
 

 
to the fun. 

My other grandmother has a different story.  My brother
 

 
and I are the youngest grandkids on my dad’s side by over ten years.
 

 
So all of my older cousins grew up and still call my grandmother
 

 
Grammie, but when I was little I guess I could not say it.  I started
 

 
calling her Bay one day, and that’s what my brother and I have always
 

 
called her.  My cousins don’t understand it, but it’s just what we know
 

 
her as.  Whenever I am talking about my grandmothers, people look at me
 

 
funny, but to me Moo-Moo and Bay are just their names!

— Mandy Tompkins

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