A conversation in bed this morning. Nicola was wisely staying out of it and trying to get more sleep.
Hannah: Daddy, you know when you’re a grandad…
Lauren (interrupting): Will you be a grandad or a grandpa?
Me: Oh… a grandpa I think.
Hannah: Why?
Me: Well, in my family we’ve always had grandpas and in Mummy’s family they’ve had grandads. So I’d like to be a grandpa.
[pause]
Lauren: What about our husbands?
Hannah: Yeah, will they be grandpas or grandads?
Me (after a short think): They can be whatever they want to be, girls.
We never did get to hear what Hannah started to ask me. As ever, I’m left thinking that a bit of forward planning is commendable, but all things in moderation.
This is great. We actually had a small conundrum when the twins were born with this very topic. On Maranda’s side of the family, the twins now make the fifth living generation. So with running out of names that suited her, her mother opted for Ya-Ya–a Greek name for grandmother.
So Ya-Ya it is.
We found grandpa vs grandad a useful way of distinguishing which Older Male Relative. Names were based on family traditions, as in yours (interesting digression- are the prevalences of “grandpa” and “grandad” roughly equal?)
We didn’t need to distingush between grandmothers as we had only one at the age our eldest child was able to have any comprehension
Sadly, since September we haven’t needed to refer to Grandad, except in the past tense :’-( There was someone missing this Christmas.
Great blog! We just found out on Christmas that our 8-month-old girls are identical. I’ve been reading your blog, giggling about all the cuteness in store for us. Hannah and Lauren are adorable!!
My father-in-law stubbornly refused to designate a name for himself, insisting that the girls would come up with a cute name for him. Fine, but what are we supposed to call him until that magical moment? That guy who always hangs out with grammy? We’re calling him grandpa until Ali and Mika decide otherwise.
Welcome to the blog, Kaylee! You certainly have lots of fun in store.