MeMaw, Anyone?

Grandparent names are tricky. I had an Omi and a Granny, Matt had a Mimi and a Grandma. There are countless options. I suspect its just as important to many grandparents to find the right name as it is to parents trying to name their child!

Helen and Patrick have four wonderful grandparents. But their grandparent names are as different as they are. Nana and Papa went the traditional route. While Ninny and Ger got their names a little differently.

Nana and Papa have wanted to be grandparents since Matt and I got married...and probably even before that! I have a vague memory that they told us while I was pregnant that they would be Nana and Papa. Period. They laid their claim. I imagine many late night conversations over the years debating the perfect grandparent names.

Ninny and Ger didn't have names staked out. While in the hospital after Helen's birth, we in jest told Ninny that she could be "Grindy." A lovely combination of Grandma and Cindy. I saw the look of horror in her eyes. But the horror passed just quickly enough for her to zing my dad by calling him "Grill." A similar combination of Grandpa and Bill. Those horrible names became quite the family joke and therefore, of course, in my sarcastic clan stuck. So for some time it was Grindy and Grill...with the idea that Helen would come up with her own unique names for my parents. Well Grindy eventually morphed into Ninny and Grill into Ger (although an official spelling is still in the works).

What is especially wonderful is despite the different paths, both sets of grandparents have the perfect names. I couldn't imagine Nana and Papa being called anything but. And Ninny and Ger seem to suit my parents perfectly.

There is a great article on Grandparents.com about choosing a grandparent name. Check it out!!!http://www.grandparents.com/gp/content/activitiesandevents/everyday-activities/article/choose-your-grandparent-name.html