Saturday, May 9, 2009

A rose by any other name

Origin of the name Bonnie: Scottish meaning pretty, charming, fair of face, beautiful

Um, no pressure living up to all that!

It's a documented fact in our family that I gave my poor mother lockjaw during her pregnancy yet she still had the grace to name me Bonnie! How I was given the name depended on who you asked. My father said he named me after his favorite childhood canine a Scottie terrier. Coming from a dog family I always thought that was cute. But if you asked my mother, she would tell you that she named me after her childhood pen pal named Bonnie Perry who lived in Georgia.

As a 4th grader we learned the song...My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie lies over the sea, my Bonnie lies over the ocean, oh bring back my Bonnie to me. Oh, the bane of my existence! Later it was...Hey Bonnie, where's Clyde? In high school I decided to drop the "e" and become Bonni with a little daisy on top of the "i" not a dot. I was feeling a little rebellious I guess!

Within the last few years I have been bestowed with...Bon, BonBon, Bonnice, Bonstance, Bonarama, Bonalicious, Bonzai and a few other lovelies, all from friends. It kinda makes me feel warm and fuzzy which all goes back to my mother!

My mother Yolanda, named after an aunt, was the only girl in a family of five. On her 16th birthday she and a friend were headed to the beach to celebrate but first stopped off at a bakery for a treat. Her oldest brother Sandy ran all the way there and breathlessly told her she needed to get home...Pearl Harbor had just been attacked! *in case you didn't know, we are from Hawaii* At 21 my mother met my father on a blind date and in quick succession became engaged and married and then I arrived to rock their world! My mother managed a household of seven kids and although that's a lot of skinned knees, bruised elbows and snotty noses my mother loved us all equally and provided a home that was safe and sheltered from any storm.

One of my favorite pictures
My mom Yolanda, my dad Edgar and their little BonBon


I LOVE YOU MOM!

4 comments:

  1. That is a great story! You writer,you! I added some more touches to your book yesterday, in between homework and tuning my harp and changing the strings...what an ordeal to change the G string in gut material. Nasty!! Have a great day Bonnie! Anita

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  2. Oh what a sweet post, Bonnie! Your mom sounds like a wonderful person! How interesting that you were named after her pen pal here in Georgia! I named my daughter after my sister...and my dad, and my grandmother, and my cousins! It's a family tradition...Page! lol Loved the kitty post...left you a note there! Have a great weekend...hugs...Debbie

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  3. Hi Bon!

    Your post reminds me of my own childhood troubles with my name. Imagine being in elementary school when a "Heidi" doll hits the store shelves! Oh, and when you press a button on the doll's stomach, the arm goes up and . . . yes, it was a "Hi Heidi" doll! I can't tell you how many times I was poked in the tummy!

    See ya!

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