What's in a name...
I have a new bloggerific look thanks to my Robot.
Crazy Jo. It's the name I started out with, abandoned, and have come back to. I suppose there was a time when I really hated this nickname. After all, it implies I succumb to irrational, wacky behavior, or my ducks are not in a row, or I've fallen off of some rocker somewhere, and maybe I just can't get right. The really sad thing is it was a nickname given to me by an ex-boyfriend. Yeah, I know...sad. I can beat that one though....my new boyfriend (and later my husband) decided it was a nice fit and he also adopted the name for me.
Honestly though, weren't we ALL crazy when we were 16? That's what I thought.
I like nicknames. I like it when someone says my name with a twist, a nice twist, like "Caters." My original nickname was Catie Jo, and it fit the spunky, tom-boy little kid I was. By the time I turned, oh, probably, 14 or so, Catie Jo was no longer cool. I insisted my parents call me Catherine, my God-given name. It was sophisticated, grown-up, and oozed with flair and greatness. Catherine...that was my name. Of course, I didn't answer to Catherine. The first few days of any class, anywhere, any grade, I forgot to say "Here!!" when I heard the name Catherine, Catherine, Catherine? Oh, yeah, that's my name! Here I am!
My grandparents still call me Catie Jo...and I can prove it with the most recent card I got in the mail. When Robbie is frustrated with me I often hear Catie Jo with an exasperated tone attached to it. The name is familiar, the name is mine.
Crazy was a clever twist, a play on words...and it stuck. I won't argue that it wasn't an accurate portrayal...I just won't, but, I will say that I appreciate the name more now then when I was a teenager. I suppose it has something to do with having a better appreciation of who I am, an understanding of the person I've become. I'm a little crazy sometimes, so what? I am also quite fond of it because the story behind it required time and prior knowledge of who I use to be...a crazy teenager. When you grow up military prior knowledge is a rarity. I have had enough life now, outside of military life, to know people who knew me when. I love that.
I think Catie's Connotations was a little like wanting to be called Catherine. I hardly responded to it and sometimes didn't even recognize it as my own...it just didn't seem to fit. Let's face it, my name is Catie Jo and a little crazy comes with that package.
Crazy Jo. It's the name I started out with, abandoned, and have come back to. I suppose there was a time when I really hated this nickname. After all, it implies I succumb to irrational, wacky behavior, or my ducks are not in a row, or I've fallen off of some rocker somewhere, and maybe I just can't get right. The really sad thing is it was a nickname given to me by an ex-boyfriend. Yeah, I know...sad. I can beat that one though....my new boyfriend (and later my husband) decided it was a nice fit and he also adopted the name for me.
Honestly though, weren't we ALL crazy when we were 16? That's what I thought.
I like nicknames. I like it when someone says my name with a twist, a nice twist, like "Caters." My original nickname was Catie Jo, and it fit the spunky, tom-boy little kid I was. By the time I turned, oh, probably, 14 or so, Catie Jo was no longer cool. I insisted my parents call me Catherine, my God-given name. It was sophisticated, grown-up, and oozed with flair and greatness. Catherine...that was my name. Of course, I didn't answer to Catherine. The first few days of any class, anywhere, any grade, I forgot to say "Here!!" when I heard the name Catherine, Catherine, Catherine? Oh, yeah, that's my name! Here I am!
My grandparents still call me Catie Jo...and I can prove it with the most recent card I got in the mail. When Robbie is frustrated with me I often hear Catie Jo with an exasperated tone attached to it. The name is familiar, the name is mine.
Crazy was a clever twist, a play on words...and it stuck. I won't argue that it wasn't an accurate portrayal...I just won't, but, I will say that I appreciate the name more now then when I was a teenager. I suppose it has something to do with having a better appreciation of who I am, an understanding of the person I've become. I'm a little crazy sometimes, so what? I am also quite fond of it because the story behind it required time and prior knowledge of who I use to be...a crazy teenager. When you grow up military prior knowledge is a rarity. I have had enough life now, outside of military life, to know people who knew me when. I love that.
I think Catie's Connotations was a little like wanting to be called Catherine. I hardly responded to it and sometimes didn't even recognize it as my own...it just didn't seem to fit. Let's face it, my name is Catie Jo and a little crazy comes with that package.
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