I have always loved Sidney Poitier movies, my favorite being, In the Heat of the Night. One of the most famous quotes from the film is " They call me Mr. Tibbs". Its Sidney's way of telling the small town bigots to show him some respect. When I think of my own life, I go by a few different names: Leslie, Les, Mom, But never. . .Grandma!
True, I am the proud grandmother of two terrific boys but, they call me Nana, not grandma. It may be a personal problem but, to me, the word "grandma" conjures up images of Ma and Pa Kettle sitting on the porch on their rocking chairs. Nana on the other hand sounds so cute, so chic, so young. . . . When the folks in the small southern town started to call Sidney Mr. Tibbs, he quickly started to gain their respect and admiration. When my grandsons call me Nana, I still see myself as a young, sexy, interesting woman.
I'm not the only one with a phobia of the G word. My boyfriend doesn't like his grandkids to call him grandpa. Instead, he goes by the cooler sounding, G.P.. I had thought about G.M. but, sounding like a struggling auto maker just didn't make my day.
So if you ever see me on the street with my grandsons, for heaven sake don't call me grandma. Call me Leslie, Ms. Smith, or Nana. Hey, if it worked for Mr. Tibbs, surely it can work for me.
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