Blogging from A to Z Challenge
April 2016
This month I will be participating in the “Blogging from A-Z Challenge”
What is it?
April 2016
This month I will be participating in the “Blogging from A-Z Challenge”
What is it?
Blogging every day. It begins on April First with a topic themed on something with the letter A, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z. The theme of the day is the letter scheduled for that day.
This is a fictional piece inspired by Bella my twelve-year-old granddaughter and her two friends Bella B and Bella S. They are affectionately known as the Bella's. I wondered what their future might be. Of course in accordance with the challenge, I did change the names to fit the letter of the day.
The Three Tina's
The three of us met in first grade, forty some years ago. After the teacher finished roll call she remarked, "Oh my, we have the three Tina's." We all looked at each other and smiled.
I believe it was at that moment that we became a trio.
The name stuck. The Three Tina's.
Over time, the group name was shortened and our other friends just referred to us as "The Tina's"
For instance, I was recently having a conversation with my sister. We were discussing my daughter's upcoming wedding.
"Are you inviting The Tina's?" she asked.
After that first year of school, we were never in the same class again.
But, all throughout our grammar and junior high school years we were inseparable. At times, though, it seemed that our individuality became blurred.
Things changed dramatically when we entered high school.
We began to head down different paths.
Tina B who was the smartest of the Tina's and a real beauty was on the advanced placement track and quite popular. She suddenly wanted everyone to call her Christina. Well, that was her real name. It didn't seem to bother Tina S but I felt a little hurt.
Tina S was the athlete. She was short and stocky, but quick and strong.
Me? I guess you could call me the middle child of the Tina's. I was an average student, so-so when it came to sports, and a little socially inept. I was one of the contributors to the high school newspaper, though and always had my journal handy.
We would still get together every once in a while for a beach day or a sleep over.
But even those times became less and less.
One of the things we solemnly swore, back in 6th grade, was that we would all go to prom together.
Surprisingly, Christina remembered our promise and insisted that we stick to it.
I had a steady boyfriend by then. Christina was trying to decide who she was going to choose to go with. She had several invitations.
About a month before the prom Tina S still did not have a date, though.
Christina and I kind of talked Christina's cousin Bob into asking Tina S.
And we all did go to the prom together.
I thought about all of those times as I stood in the back of the church.
I watched Chistina and Tina S, their heads together, chatting away. Christina, recently divorced from husband number two, still thin and beautiful was smartly dressed in a pale blue silk dress.
Tina S, chunky now, in black slacks and a sparkly top, was sitting next to Dawn, her partner of many years.
My son took my arm.
"It's time to go now, Mom. I believe everyone is seated."
As we slowly walked down the aisle, Christina and Tina S, caught my eye and we smiled at each other.
I always had another Linda in my class. It was the most popular name the year I was born. My mother decided spelling it with a "y" instead of an "i" would make it a little different.
I'm kind of glad that she did.
My granddaughter's name, Isabella, was also the most popular name the year she was born.
What about you? Are you happy with your name?
I was never happy with my name. I never knew another Paula. Isn't it funny that I wanted to have more girls that had my name. My oldest son was Daniel. There were two in his class all through grade school. So one was Daniel and the other was Danny. My son chose to be called Danny. That is what we still call him. My youngest was Justin and there were lots of Justins but luckily never in his class. The often called him Jason! Names are a crazy thing aren't they??
ReplyDeleteYes, names are crazy things. I wonder what would happen if we could choose our own names at a certain age. You know have a naming ceremony.
DeleteThat is interesting with the 3 Bella's :) I didn't realize it was such a popular name, a pretty name!
ReplyDeleteSon's name starts with a M and its one of the names of the 4 gospels in the Bible. It was a very popular name the year we named him. I remember being at the park and calling his name and 4-5 little boys would pop up their heads :)
I wasn't crazy about my name. My full first name is Betty Jean with no middle name; I tend to make Jean my middle name. I could have been Donna Jean, my dad's favorite, but mom liked Betty Jean.
It is a delicate art naming a child I think!
betty
I wonder how your son feels about having a popular name.
DeleteI think most parents are careful about choosing names for their kids.
Betty Jean is a cool name, anyway, I think so :)
I certainly didn't like my name when I was younger as it set me apart from others I thought - I always wanted to be called Pamela! My own two children have popular biblical names but somehow they've never seemed to end up in class with others of the same name so I think they have the best of both worlds :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you like your name now. I think you chose wisely for your children.
Delete3 Bellas. That's great.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth is generally pretty popular. There were a couple in my school.
Last week, I covered an English class all week. (I blogged about it.) In 6th period I discovered while taking roll that there were 2 Elizabeths in class. They sat at the same table (naturally). So, at some point I said it was kind of confusing to have 3 Elizabeths in class. They corrected me. I informed them that I was the 3rd.
I love that you surprised the other two Liz's by telling them your name. That's so cute.
DeleteNames definitely come and go in cycles. We had lots of Tracy's and Michelle's in my grade throughout school. My sister has three friends from college that she called the Jennifer's.
ReplyDeleteI also remember in high school thinking that I wanted to name my future daughter after my grandmother in some way, but I didn't want to give a baby my grandmother's "old lady" name: Emma, which by the time my daughter was actually born was enjoying a surge in popularity. By then, of course, I/we had chosen another name altogether.
I named my daughter Jennifer. Apparently, it was the most popular name that year too because there was always more than one in her classes.
DeleteEmma is a pretty name.
Melissa was a super popular name when I was a kid, there was always at least one other one in my class. Now my kids were named after grandparents, Anthony and Catherine and they have Never had that problem yet.
ReplyDelete@magickislife from My Creatively Random Life
Anthony and Catherine are great names. Yes, I think Melissa has always been a popular name.
DeleteWhen I was young I was called Kathy which I hated because I had 3 cousins who were Kathys and there were several of them in the neighborhood. As an adult I use Kathleen, my given name, which is much better.
ReplyDelete@Kathleen01930
Meet My Imaginary Friends
#AtoZchallenge
Yes, I agree, Kathleen is a lovely name.
DeleteTo be perfectly honest, I've always hated my name because it was so ordinary and it didn't lend itself to a nickname (which I always wanted). So when I had a daughter I swore I wouldn't stick her with a plain name. So I named her Ciara, which she in turn never liked because no one could spell it or pronounce it right (key-air-ah). LOL
ReplyDeleteCarol at My Writing Journal
I think most people would choose a different name than the one that was picked for them.
DeleteYes, I guess it would be kind of hard to shorten Carol to a nickname.
Ciara is a pretty name, but I would have pronounced it with a soft C.
My name, Tamara, is okay. No one ever knows how to pronounce it. I put the emphasis on the first syllable. My nickname, Tammy, is easier to handle, but it always made me think of a stereotypical ditsy cheerleader-type girl which was not me at all. We purposely gave our daughters names they would never have to share with their classmates.
ReplyDeleteLovely story.