Name Changes & Conversation

A grandfather's voice is prevalent in the mind regardless of his presence. My grandfather is not the average grandfather nor is he the average man. His words carry generations of meaning and were born from his shenanigans in our world's nooks and crannies. He drives Land Rover 80mph through Italian craters, orders 10 cases of Chandon champagne for his home in any given country he visits, and relates mostly to the artistically intellectual... a rare breed of humanity. Speaking with him as a child required a twist of endurance and a pinch of pride. Inferiority tastes sour.

I, the granddaughter, came to know my grandfather as "Dadio". Although "Dadio" was the name he offered to his grand-kids, recently he experienced a change of heart instructing us to refer to him as George, his given name. Just between you and me, I have a list of challenging challenges and this small request of his has crept to the top. My mouth opens to call out "George" and I feel a wave of stupidity crash on me. Awkward, unfamiliar, robotic. He's my grandfather, my Dadio. Pulling his nickname after my 20 something years of my living sounds similar to the first time I tried learning Turkish.

Slowly I've gained the momentum to begin a conversation with "George." The habit of using no name began sounding odd if not already. Practice requires overcoming stupid obstacles to gain skill. ;) Tossing around one "George" in our conversations a day will eventually soothe the itch that has me squirmish. Right?

Moral of the story:
Name changes are fine and dandy. Family will find it weird. Be kind to your grandchildren! ;)