Family-Style Terms of Endearment

November is Family Stories Month and, with Thanksgiving coming up in the U.S. (already come and gone in Canada), it’s the beginning of a season of gatherings with family and friends. While many of us look forward to those gatherings, they can also be fraught. I once saw a cartoon by Betsy Streeter in which a man handing his wife the phone says, “It’s your mother calling to initiate the awkward family misunderstandings for this holiday season.” That means it's time to hone our compatibility skills and practice telling pleasant family stories to one another

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One way might be to reminisce about the terms of endearment we use with one another. Many of us have a nickname we were called by parents, siblings, school chums, a lover, or spouse -- or that we called one or more of those people, plus our own children or grandchildren – that elicit warm memories. Consider those terms of endearment as a topic for a cheerful conversation as you gather with family and/or friends.

Although it would seem that many of the following? are names more suited to the very young, according to this Valentine website, the top 10 romantic nicknames are:

• Baby/ Babe
• Sunshine
• Sweetie (or “Sweetie Pie” or “Sweet Pea)
• Honey (or just “Hun” or maybe “Honey bun” or “Honey bunny”)
• Sweetheart
• Darling
• Pumpkin
• Love
• Angel/ Princess

And while lots of other nicknames are popular or reflect perceived attributes in the loved one (Sugar Lips), some border on the embarrassing:

• Cutie patootie
• Doodlebug
• Dumpling
• Lambchop
• My Sweet Baboo
• Pookie
• Shoogie-woogie
• Snookums
• Snugglepuss
• Sweet Cheeks (which ones?)
• Tootsie-wootsie
• Twinkle Toes

Try it! Talk about nicknames and terms of endearment and your (I hope) pleasant experiences with them:

• Did/Do you have an affectionate name for a spouse, lover, friend, your children, or grandchildren?
• Did any of those people have an affectionate name for you? Are you willing to share it?
• Is there a story behind the name? Tell it!

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Life Stories is a topic I have written extensively about for most of my life because I view it as the essence of how we can connect with one another. The above is an exercise you will find in a course I have written on the topic and an e-book which I will publish soon and am eager to share. More to come.

This post is also an edited excerpt from yesterday’s e-newsletter, Wait Lifters – uplifting content for every kind of downtime.? If you enjoyed it, please share it.

Kathy Laurenhue, M.A, C.H.P., is the creator and CEO of Wiser Now, Inc., dedicated to fostering wellbeing in people of all ages. Known for her practical and lighthearted approach, she is the author of multiple books and newsletters, dozens of training courses and webinars, and hundreds of trivia quizzes, word, games, and discussion exercises. Check out the many offerings of her Wiser Now, Inc. website, her CreatingDelight.com ?website (focused on creating fun and goodwill) and her Caregiving website?(focused on both givers and receivers). She welcomes your feedback at [email protected].?