I saw a friend yesterday who is pregnant with her third baby. She looks fantastic - like Polly Pockets with a bubble in her belly. I'm always in awe of women like this. They remind me of baby fawns who, despite little tiny limbs, still manage to pop out of the womb and walk around quite gracefully. (At 36 I can barely manage a barefooted stroll across my kitchen floor without jamming my toe into a cupboard, fracturing it at the tip, but that's a story for another day.)
I write about our meeting because, in leaving, I put the initials together of her soon-to-be-named child and realized it formed an acronym that wasn't entirely pleasant - not a bad word, but not a complimentary one either. The word? OAF - meaning a character who is dull and dimwitted.
Here is the dilemna: Was I out of line to email her a link to the word, giving the history of its elf like origins? Would I have been better off keeping my mouth shut, assuming that she had indeed understood the acronym and decided not to worry about it?
I mean, kids are mean in school, but this word isn't exactly in an 8 year old's vocabulary. It's unlikely they will run around the playground screaming, "Hey, oaf, move your ghoulish ass!" Why would they, when they could simply make fun of initials such as the ones my parents so lovingly gave me: ARF.
No joke.
And yes, this explains a lot.
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5 comments:
I was lucky, my initials spelled "Pam" and it stuck.
LOL....
If kids don't know his middle name/initial he could go around as "of" That's kind of cool, right?
I don't think it is that big of a deal, the initials thing.
I seriously doubt that by the time this kid is in school, anyone his age will know what "oaf" means or that it's even a word. Sad, but true. I was lucky enough to not be given bad initials. Unfortunately, I was still stuck with a nickname made up of initials. Imagine how much fun the kids had with the name B.J. I still think I'm in need of some therapy for that.
You were not out of line. She may be miffed, but the child will thank you.
Pam, is your name not really Pam? I mean, your first name?
Mommyham, turns outo you're of the same mentality as my friend. She wrote me back and said as much - not offended at all though by my suggestion, which is good.
Amisare - I say BJ is better than Oaf any day of the week.
Meno - I agree with you, but she did not. Post to explain later tonight.
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