I have heard it said that your favorite word in any language is your name (or the name you like to be called). While I believe that this is true in an extra familial sense, I do know that nicknames – especially ones that endear a person to you (and you to them) are loved by many. This is illustrated in the idea of, “my friends call me Jack.”
As a dad, you gave your child their name. You’ve used their name a lot through the years of infancy and toddler-hood. Now I want to encourage you to find a name, not to replace their given name, but one that has deeper meaning in the mind of your coherent child – one with which you can build them up.
My last blog, Name Calling …but Reversed, had to do with names I have called my children and the stories that made those names valuable in their eyes. The concept I am commending to you is intended to use word-pictures to inspire both intrinsic value for your child, as well as encouragement to become what you see in them, but perhaps something that they don’t see in themselves (as with my son and Captain America – he’s not that leader yet… but he will be)
There was once a lady at a restaurant where I worked for a time, that was in a bad situation. She was of Chinese decent, pretty, and she was a bit overweight especially for her height which was not a large number. She had a bad attitude for fairly good reason, and most of our co-workers were not her biggest fans. She went through a divorce, in those years, and it really rattled her. During the time I was getting to know her, we had a few talks over “lunch,” which amounted to a quick bite between shifts, sitting in the restaurant. Through this communication, and subsequent incidental moments I learned that she liked Iced Tea and that she used the pink sugar substitute. As time went on I had the privilege to meet her mom from where she had received much of her lighter and funnier side. (Oh, did I mention she had one of those?) I would not have found that side without some digging, but it turned out to be a great side of her. And so, I began to call her a nickname, using the above concept. I called her “Sweet & Low.”
Now many of my co-workers looked at me funny when they learned that this was my nickname for her, but as it turned out she began to lived up to the name. Of course, she already had the low part down, but the sweet came, over time, just the same. She adored the name, and it build bonds between us in a healthy friendship, something I believe she sorely needed. I truly believe it was because of my faith that she could be sweet, that she became this way. Often using a name that embodies something a person has not yet achieved, but that you see their potential to be, will encourage them to become the very thing that you label them. It worked for Michelle.
So I want to encourage you, to seek out a nickname that will build up your kids(s), that embodies a story of who they are, who you see them becoming, and or intrinsic of descriptive value!