Celebrating Grandparents’ Day: Kids Say the Darndest Things

by Kerri Cooke

Grandparents are an irreplaceable part of a family. They have wisdom and knowledge to pass down to the younger generations, will babysit the grandkids in a jiffy and buy 100 boxes of Girl Scout cookies if that’s what it takes for their granddaughter to reach her sales goal. 

But grandkids also have a unique way of giving. No longer are grandma and grandpa called by those titles across the board. In fact, Kristy Como Armand, grandmother to six, says that when she became a grandmother for the first time, her friend, Fran Avery, told her the first grandchild would choose what she would be called. And that turned out to be the truth.

“Years ago, I got junk mail at my office addressed to Krispy Almond,” Armand says. “It became a joke and my kids, teenagers at the time, latched onto the name ‘Krispy’ as a nickname for me. I was not a huge fan, but they thought it was hilarious and said it would be a great grandmother name when they had kids. Fast forward to when my oldest daughter was pregnant with my first granddaughter. I was trying to decide on what to be called. I tested out KK, KiKi, and a few others but none felt right. ‘Krispy’ resurfaced and I thought it was different, and at least something I was used to, so that was going to be my grandparent name. When Anna Grace started talking, we tried to get her to call me Krispy, but what came out was ‘Brisket,’ then ‘Biscuit.’ I panicked a little. As much as I love brisket and biscuits, I didn’t want to be called that. I kept trying for Krispy and got ‘Bissy’ next. When faced with the alternatives, I decided I could live with that. It doesn’t make any sense, but it’s unique and I love it because it came from her.”

Carmen Ishee says a similar thing happened with her firstborn. “My son couldn’t pronounce ‘m’ properly as a toddler and calls me ‘baba’ instead of mama because of it. Fast forward to both his grandmas, he calls my mom ‘ba’ instead of mom and his Mimsy ‘bims’ instead of ‘mims,’ but we love his personalized names.

Katrina Creamer says her granddaughter has names for both her and her husband—Zsa Zsa and Dragon. “Originally, we were going to be Lolli and Dragon. One day we were shopping, and I saw a company called Zsa Zsa and Lolli in a boutique and I was set once I saw Zsa Zsa! I loved how unique it was and knew I had never heard anyone call their grandma that before! My husband picked Dragon because he said when you become a grandparent, it usually is the only time you can pick out your name.”

These are the memories that will last forever. After becoming a grandparent, you assume a new and additional identity—and an additional capacity for love.