All her life Ms. Cranky remembers older women calling
her ‘hon’ and ‘dear’ and ‘sweetie,’ most especially waitresses named Lil or
Gert. Cranky didn’t mind it, it was a
nice part of life and she didn’t think much about it. Until lately --- when Ms. Cranky became one
of ‘those people.’
There was no warning nor preparation and no one told
her to do it. There was no instruction
booklet or ceremony gently moving her into the world of the Lil’s and Gert’s of
Cranky’s yesteryear.
But, slowly, Ms. Cranky began noticing those old
familiar words creeping into her very own language, usually on goodbyes. “Bye, sweetie;
okay hon, see you real soon…”
Did Ms. Cranky get older? --- Yes, of course, Ms. Cranky got older,
and, seemingly, very quickly. But, did
Ms. Cranky suddenly become a waitress in a highway diner with homemade coleslaw
and heavy off-white coffee mugs? No she
didn’t.
It took a while for Cranky to process this information
and to even realize she was doing it. She’d
hang up the phone and go, ‘Hmmm,’ did I
just call my niece-in-law ‘sweetie’? Was
that actually me saying ‘goodbye honey’
to my mentee? It was not thought out in
the least but it was definitely happening.
Now, over a bit of time, Ms. Cranky doesn’t mind the
change; she even thinks it’s sort of sweet (not ‘sweetie’). One day she simply realized her new speech
had become a pattern, an ‘okay’ pattern that came with the passage of time ---
maybe like lower-heeled softer shoes or needing eyeglasses or trying to decide
to color your hair or not?
.
Ms.
Cranky wonders your thoughts on this matter and also wonders if it happens in
all cultures and what the names would be in Italy or Croatia or China? And, Ms. Cranky celebrates all the women who
came before her and their most welcome terms of endearment. A term of endearment is always enjoyed.
See
ya’ ‘round ‘dearies’!!!
April
2015
