sunshine, love, teensy weensy

The Teensiest Weensiest, Queen of the Teensy Weensies

The Mini (and "Nana")

The Itsy Bitsy

Amidst a discussion last weekend about words that make us crazy (“moist” and “sneakers” top my list), I discovered that several of our friends hate the word “kiddo.” With that knowledge lingering in the back of my mind, I’ve been conducting an informal assessment of my own use of terms of endearment throughout my week.

Just so you know, between the words “darlin,” “sweetheart,” “dolly,” “sunshine,” and “love," I use terms of endearment probably close to one hundred times a day. I also sometimes call my students “kiddos” or “monkeys” or “wild ones,” though usually in a whole group context (e.g. “Join me over here, wild ones.”). Judging from the nicknames I call the small friends in my life, ranging from “Mini” to “The Teensiests of the Weensiests” to “Itsy Bitsy,” I think maybe using terms of endearment is one of my love languages. So for those of you out there who hate these affectionate nicknames- sorry! I just don’t think there’s much hope for change at this point.