Family Speak

Tess at Life at Willow Manor has a wonderful entry about the made-up language that families use, those words that become commonplace and unnoticed until someone uses them in the company of strangers. The entry and the comments are well worth reading. They made me laugh and think about the words my own family uses.

We ask for hang-goomers since my young nephew (who is now an adult) couldn't say hamburgers.

We talk about monkey neck sweaters since my then four-year-old daughter begged me one day "Please, Mom, please. Don't make me wear those monkey neck sweaters. I hate having them up around my neck!" No more turtle necks for us—or monkey necks either!

This same daughter always asked for a little snack between meals to "tidy-me-over." She thought that was what Grandma said.

My aunt was always so sad to hear when a woman had to have a hector-mector. I think it sounds much less serious and more fun than a hysterectomy, don't you?

When I was a young girl, my three-year-old cousin had to stay with us for a few days while her mom was in the hospital. She was not a happy camper. Uncle Harold promised her that he would come back for her on Friday afternoon. All week, she kept saying, "Is it Pidey acker noon? My daddy is coming on Pidey acker noon!" So anytime after, when we were waiting for something that we were sure was coming, we would say "It will be here on Pidey acker noon!"

Right now, I have a four-year-old granddaughter and a three-year-old grandson, so I know that we will soon have more goodies to add to our vocabulary. How about you—do you have your own "family speak?"