My mother’s name was Isabelle but my father called her Liz. No one knows how she got this nickname except that, as I said, my father gave almost everyone he knew an incongruous nickname. For instance, mine was Daisy, Lynn’s was Barney Google, Gary’s was Tex; my son Joel was Jaybird, my son Adam was Atom Smasher, my niece Kelly was Calico.
I loved my mom’s name but almost no one called her Isabelle, except for one of my cousins from Connecticut who used to call Mom “Auntie Bell,” which was at least closer to the truth and very endearing.
My mother was a very sweet, refined and quiet person most of the time. I don’t think I ever heard her raise her voice, swear or talk behind anyone’s back. She loved to get her hair done, shop for clothes for hours, play golf and pray. As an adult I had wished that she had more serious pursuits because she rarely seemed to understand or have much of an interest in things that I was doing, such as writing, getting my bachelor’s degree and traveling.
I loved my mom’s name but almost no one called her Isabelle, except for one of my cousins from Connecticut who used to call Mom “Auntie Bell,” which was at least closer to the truth and very endearing.
My mother was a very sweet, refined and quiet person most of the time. I don’t think I ever heard her raise her voice, swear or talk behind anyone’s back. She loved to get her hair done, shop for clothes for hours, play golf and pray. As an adult I had wished that she had more serious pursuits because she rarely seemed to understand or have much of an interest in things that I was doing, such as writing, getting my bachelor’s degree and traveling.