What is your name again?

I used to laugh at my dad. He could never seem to remember our names. Mostly my three brother's names but sometimes my sister's and mine also.

I don't have many vivid memories of my dad (he passed away when I was 15 and we were never all that close), but this one sticks in my mind.

When he would want to talk to my brother, Paul, he would say, "Da ... To ... PAUL!" (Da = David, To = Tom - my two oldest brothers).

I used to think how funny that was that he couldn't remember their names.

And then ... I had my own kids.

When there was only Keira, it was not a problem. No one to get her mixed up with. Even when Nick came along, they were boy and girl. Still not a problem.

But once Alex arrived, things started going South. In my brain, that is.

"Alex, stop doing that!"

"Mom, I'm Nick!"

"Oh ... um ... well ... stop doing that!"

Other people forget their names. People outside of our family. I can totally understand that.

One of my friends told me that her son thought my boys' names were Nick and Nicholas. That's a little silly, but he's 11. What do you expect?

We were playing outside today ... Jordan, Alex, Honey, and myself. I called Alex Nicholas several times. Why do I do that? Jordan was quick to correct me, thankyouverymuch!

"He's Alex, Aunt Kimmie." And she laughs.

"Uh huh."

She hasn't had it happen to her yet, because her baby sister is only 8 weeks old. But she will soon find out. At least, I hope she will. That will mean that I'm not the only one who calls her children by the wrong names.

My mom would call me Carol (her sister), Linda (my sister), and then finally my name. Actually she still does that.

At a birthday party for one of my kids [can't remember which one now :) ], I wanted my nephew, Kyle, to do something for me. After going through the list of possible names ... watching him laugh at me the entire time (teenagers!) ... I finally just said, "YOU! You know who you are!"

So I'm wondering if it would be any easier if I just gave them each a number. Keira would be number 1, Nick number 2, and Alex number 3. That's logical, right?

"Two, go get one!"

"Go get one what, mom?"

Okay, maybe that wouldn't work. :)

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