Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Loved Child

falling in love with old and new

 

I am already in love.

We all are.

To love without knowing. 

A baby. A Grandchild that is already deeply loved.

 

loving beyond now

 

Martin's parents are first-time grandparents as well, they are in love already too.

Giddy.

Martin's mother knitted baby clothes, darling ones at that. She asked if I knew how to knit at this moment I wish I did.

I took out the antique baby clothes I have been buying over the years. The little child will be head to toe 19th-century eyelet and white cotton… well when he is at our house that is.

Baby clothes in France are beyond darling. I cannot go into baby stores I just want it all.

Maybe Chelsea will have to install one of those "take a ticket" things in her home as we are all going to want to hold the baby forever.

Already in love.

Period.

 

love life

 

Chelsea says that she rather that I did not use Va as that is my mother's Grandmother name (Portuguese). I told her I called both my Grandmother's Va. She asked, "How did you know which one was which when they called or when your mother said, "We are going to Va's house?" I smiled at the memory that brought up. I said, "My brothers and I would say, "Va with the gum or Va with the coffee?" 

I guess I could be called, "Sugar".

What name do you have or

will have or would take if you were a Grandmother?

___

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

40 responses to “Loved Child”

  1. Jacklynn Lantry

    Some cute grandmother names I’ve heard: Gita, BaBa and Grammy. For you, I love Grammie Coco.

    Reply
  2. Martina

    Why he should call you CoCo like your nieces do! Maybe Belle CoCo? What with Martin’s parents be called? Yann?
    The grandmother of family friends was called Gigi by her grandkids.
    An L.M. Montgomery book I read had Young Grandmother and Old Grandmother as characters. Don’t think Martin’s mom wants to be known as Old Grandmother😆

    Reply
  3. Lil Fleur

    My nana was called nana. And every once in a while she would say in a sophisticated voice, “Call me graundmother.’ But we never did.

    Reply
  4. Suzanne Lee

    I am Grandma and my daughter is Ya Ya.

    Reply
  5. Mimi

    I am Mimi to 4 beautiful grandsons.

    Reply
  6. Diogenes

    That was what we called my grandmother, Mimi. I wonder where that comes from?

    Reply
  7. Judy (aportmanteau/IG)

    I have a cousin who wanted to be called Honey. She liked it because that was what her husband called her also. A friend opted for Gigi when she became a G-Grandmother. Another name i’ve Heard is Two-Mom.

    Reply
  8. Carole Boldt

    My Grandson calls me Gramcracker ! I like that. Grandma is just fine with me, as well.

    Reply
  9. Shelby

    If my stepdaughters have children, I’ll opt for Mormor (Danish). No competition for that one!

    Reply
  10. Amanda

    I am called “Granty”. I am not sure how that came about but I think it is cute – a combination of aunty / gran.

    Reply
  11. Leialoha

    Aloha…how exciting welcoming a new angel into your ‘Ohana…our Portuguese grandmother is called Avo and great grandmother is Vis Avo…pronounced veej Avo…My Hawaiian/Portuguese grand babies call me ‘Glamma’…instead of “Tutu”.

    Reply
  12. Ana

    I am nana, and paternal grandmother is called ‘nanny Frome’ as that is where she lives. My daughter would not have us both be ‘nana’ as she said that i was a nana first. I love, love, all three of my grandsons, they are a blessing and continual source of joy.i wish that could bottle up all their sweetness.
    This is truly a blessed time for you Corey and that little bundle will take your breath away and it will be hard to let him go, but oh how they love you back even at hours old, they steal your heart.

    Reply
  13. Carol

    I love Coco for you! Or maybe my coco. My grandson calls me “my Carol”. Now that he’s a bit older he just says Carol, but if he is upset or sad he always goes back to “my Carol”. I couldn’t come up with anything that felt right. My friend’ s child calls her mother “kissy”, which I thought was cute. Someone else I know uses cookie. My grandson told his teacher,”this my Carol “ then whispered “she’s not my grandmother.” Made me smile. What a happy time. Enjoy every minute!

    Reply
  14. Arnelle

    I let my daughter decide…anything was fine with me!
    She was adamant that both my husband and I should be called the same as she had called my parents..
    Nana and Opa.

    Reply
  15. Mary

    I’m Nanny. I love being Nanny as I think you will love being Va with the sweets😉. My brother was Gigi as his first grandson couldn’t say Grampie. What do Martin’s parents want to be called? Whatever you decide the love is there and will only get stronger. I’m so happy for you. Enjoy, it won’t be long❤️😘

    Reply
  16. Kelly Foth

    My grandmother was French, and we always used the French colloquial Meme or Memee with her. When my grandson was born, therefore, I became the next Meme.

    Reply
  17. Linda Piazza

    I’m proudly Grammie. According to our grandchildren, our house and all in it, including the rule-making authority, belong to me! My husband is Papa George to our grandchildren. Oh, it’s going to be so much fun for you. Two of our grandchildren are now driving, and a third is driving with a beginner’s license. Our grandson is too busy with robotics to visit as much as the granddaughters, but they get together among themselves and make plans to come to our house now that they no longer have to wait for parents to bring them. My daughters sometimes message me to ask if I know the girls are all planning to descend on us for the weekend. I do, but I let them do the planning part. I’m waiting with new art supplies and a stocked refrigerator.

    Reply
  18. Sue J.

    our 3-year-old calls my husband Paw Paw (definitely beloved) and me by my first name. not sure how/why that is, but there you go.

    Reply
  19. Gretchen Waas

    I am Gigi to my grandchildren. My son accidentally gave me the idea when he sometimes would drop off his dog for us to watch while they vacationed. He would say the dog was going to Grandma Gretchen’s. That’s too much of a mouthful, so I shortened it to GG, or spelled out, Gigi.

    Reply
  20. Jennie

    I vote for Coco. And since you and Yann met on my birthday in San Francisco and I live in San Francisco and I have been studying French for 30 years and I have been to Paris 12 times and I have been to the south of France I think it is just natural to consider myself an honorary grandmere. I hope to meet all of you someday. I think Baby Boy is going to have so many international grandparents he will feel love from near and far. I hope he has many names on his birth certificate to honor his great grandfathers in addition to the name Chelsea and Martin chooses. Sorry to go on and on.

    Reply
  21. chardonnaylynn

    I am Mimi to my two grandchildren. That is what we called my paternal grandmother. When my daughter was pregnant with our first grandchild I wrote to the baby in a journal many times, including the days following her birth. So many of my words echo yours. When the time is right (18th birthday, wedding, ???) I will give Sydney the journal. I hope that she will love it as much as I did writing it and rereading it.

    Reply
  22. Suki Tutthill

    Grammy Suki came out “Guki”, what do you do ? I love it now and all their friends call me that as well, 15 years later even. Congrats grandma. Best thing I’ve heard is falling in love with a grandchild opens up a part of your heart you never knew you had so true. Suki Tutthill

    Reply
  23. Liana Munden

    I have such dear memories of my grandmother. She was everything to us and we could do no wrong in her eyes. We just all called her grandma. I owe much of what I am today to her love and role modeling. I have 6 wonderful grandsons ages 1-16 and one lovely step daughter and they all call me grandma. I’ve been lucky to have them close by. It’s so thrilling when they first call you by name “gama? Then gama, come to your house? The one day after a long day at work I get home and my first grandson when he was three puts both hands around my cheeks and says so lovingly “ Grandma my grandma I missed you today! Such treasures. Grandchildren are the greatest blessings!

    Reply
  24. Bobbie

    I have always loved “Mimi”. My one grandmother wanted to be called “Mom-Mom”. Fine when I was little, but in my teens I disliked calling her this. My other grandmother insisted I call her “Aunt” May. Aunt?? Who knows? But Mimi has always sounded wonderful to me…and you are French! 👍🥰

    Reply
  25. TEXAS francophile

    I also love Coco for you. However i also like Honey, Gigi, & Sweetie – you can tell I’m from the south! I like Poppy for Yann😉

    Reply
  26. Carol

    Yes, Poppy for Yann! Coco and Poppy!

    Reply
  27. Joan

    I am Granny (as was my mother and grandmother) to 4 darling littles. Although one of them calls me GrannyGran. When I do my weekly babysitting of them I am GrannyNanny. You will love this new part of your life for sure! And it is so wonderful that parents in France have so much time to bond with the baby.

    Reply
  28. judyo

    When my first grandchild was on the way we were going to be traveling in France. I asked my daughter in law if there was something she would like me to bring the little one. She mentioned Petit Bateau. I spent our days in Paris searching out shops that sold that brand with great success! Also when he was born my mother (who my children called Nana) asked me what name I wanted to be called. I said Nana and she replied, but that’s what I am. I said you are now Great Nana and she smiled.

    Reply
  29. g

    corey I was telling dee about this predicament and without blinking an eye she said bebe should call you VA VA VOOM! I thought it was an answer you would get a kick out of-IT WORKS!

    Reply
  30. Trisha-Athens

    The best I have ever heard were my two younger cousins who decided quite young to call our grandmothers by their dog’s names. So they had “Grandma Happy”, “Grandma Sweet Thing”, and “Grandma No Dog” since only two of their 3 surviving Grandmothers actually owned a dog.
    The rest of us grandchildren were boring and simply called them all Grandma with their surname attached.

    Reply
  31. RebeccaNYC

    My great-aunt Ruth is long gone, but I still think of her as my favorite person in the world. Her grandchildren always called her “Muzzie”. So when I became a step-grandmother, since the baby already has two very involved GrandMa’s, I asked if the baby could call me Muzzie, instead of GrandMa. And he does! Usually he combines my name and calls me “MuzzieBecca” which I love. Since I never had children, I never expected the joy of being a grandparent. You will love it, Corey!

    Reply
  32. RebeccaNYC

    And speaking of the “Va” confusion: My father is called “Pop-Pop” and when my brother-in-law became a grandfather, he decided he would like to be called “Pop-Pop” also. This caused a little confusion with the grands, until my nephew differentiated between them by calling my Dad “Pop-Pop-Pop”. It stuck.
    I love the above idea of calling you “Va-Va Voom” !

    Reply
  33. RebeccaNYC

    I’m not sure why my original comment did not post…but I am a step-grandmother, and I asked to be called Muzzie (after my Great-Aunt Ruth, whom I adore). My grandson calls me “Muzzie-Becca”. I love everything about that!

    Reply
  34. Chico Sue

    How adorable that a few of your readers suggested “Va-Va-Voom” for you! I think it is so fitting! But your grandchild will choose your name according to what they hear and can pronounce and you will decide it is perfect! When y first grandchild was beginning to talk (24 years ago), I often drove him from place to place. I would put him in his car seat in the back and then get in the drivers’ seat and turn around and say, “Let’s go-go-go”. Therefore, I became GoGo, from then until now! And the two that came years later (now 5 and 7) have picked up the name.
    A friend of mine who is of Italian descent has grandchildren who call her “Nona” and because HER mother was still alive and living with them, they called, “More Nona”.

    Reply
  35. Gayle

    Same here, I became Gigi, gramma Gayle, to two dogs bedore the five grandkids!

    Reply
  36. Stubblejumpers Cafe

    My mother was plump and her mother was a tiny four-foot-ten.
    One of my sons called my mom “Soft Grandma” and her mom “Little Grandma.”
    My mom got such a kick out of that.
    Kate

    Reply
  37. Jan

    I am Jaja. I didn’t want to be Memére or Nana or Grannie or anything that felt old to me—and I don’t think I’m in denial; I’m just a non-conformist. The name “Jaja” morphed from a few versions of the grandmother name of my “sister” from the Dominican Republic. I love, love, LOVE when my grandchildren call me by name. The 23 month old granddaughter just said it for the first time on Saturday and with great pleasure. My heart was so full and still flutters at the sweet memory.

    Reply
  38. Jan

    I love this, GoGo!

    Reply
  39. Jan

    Love “Guki”.

    Reply
  40. AnnW in UK

    The ‘other’ grandparent told me she would be called ‘Nansie” and her husband “Pops” – I said I’ll be called whatever my grandchild wants to call me. So Granny it is, and my husband is Grandad – both are perfect to us.

    Reply

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