When we were growing up, my mother would call us by a variety of names – each other’s mostly, but sometimes her own brother and sister’s names, though I was never lucky enough to be on the receiving end of that.  That honor mostly went to my younger brother and sister.  Being the middle child, more often than not, I got called the dog’s name.

And on my end, I would pilot my own names for Mom – mostly all were from literary works since we were a reading-ist kind of family.

Fresh off The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew series, Mom became Mamsie Dear.

As I lived the excitement of the Civil War years right along with the March Sisters in “Little Women” Mom became Marmie.

And after plowing through all the Little House on the Prairie books, there was even that failed attempt to start up a whole “Ma” thing.

But nuthin doin’ on that. I think she mistook what I had intended as a plucky, pioneer “Ma” for more of a Vinny Barbarino, wise-cracking New York “Ma” so she nixed that right outta the gate.

Where I’m really going with all of this is:

Hi Mom!

Thank you for being the best Mamsie Dear/Marmie/Ma ever. All you’ve been and done for me I can only hope to be and do for my own children.  (Except that part about being so sharp when they try to call me “Ma.”  I won’t do that 😉 

Happy Mother’s Day!

Love, Lady