I am not sure I remember the date, the time or the place of the special pet name I created for my bundle of energy, mystery and surprises but I do know the why and how! I was going thru my merry little life having had my son Michael and pregnant again with what I thought was going to be another boy to our family. Infact, this one was due so close to Christmas that the name we decided on was Christopher because I so liked the name Chris.
No test was ever done to find out, back in those days, what the sex was to predetermine if pink or blue should be bought so at the birth, early in Jan. it was a total surprise. And when the baby came out, screaming loudly for everyone in the delivery room and within earshot to hear, it was apparent, she had lungs that were operational! And note, it was a she, as the male parts were remiss, when I glanced down at the newborn baby, when she was placed on my belly right after the birth.
With no prepared name, her daddy and I felt we had to hurry up and come up with a name or take home are little pink identification tab-no name baby from the hospital. Easy choice, we went with something close to Christopher, Christina, figuring we could still use Chris as a nickname. So home we went with the baby girl neither of us were ready for. We had not bought anything girly at all.
From the first days home to the last days of her at home, Christina was a spitfire. She did everything full speed ahead. She was advanced at development in every aspect. Her temper was beyond compare, her laughter infectious, and Chris had musical giggles and more personality in her tiny body that is humanly possible! Yep, my little girl was a charmer and was double dosed with an adventurous spirit. Infact, nothing frightened her; she could dive in, head first, to the water, bathtub or swimming pool without a moment’s hesitation or jump off the back of a couch in blink of an eye. She had battle scars everywhere on her body. She looked like she had been beaten up repeatedly by the neighborhood bully or had countless encounters with the floors, the doors, the drawers, etc…so there was an ever ending amount of boo boo’s. Her slightly tomboyish personality was mixed with the coyest charm I have ever seen in a little girl what a sheer delight! I made up a nick name for her, Boo Boo Precious; my name for my little girl. It started - just like that.
Funny, looking back, that name took on a live of its own. It got shortened to Boo Boo Pez Pez because she loved to repeat everything I said and she could not pronounce the word precious correctly. When she said it, it came out sounding like those candies called Pez and that sounded way cuter than precious so it struck a chord with me and I used that terminology too and started calling her that, Boo Boo Pez Pez. The name didn’t just stick with me but with her dad, with her brother and with all of my family, before too long. I think she knew her name as Boo Boo long before she knew it as Christina!
When she got older, in the teen years, I shortened the nickname to simply Boo, and so others followed suit. She seemed not to mind, though I am not sure she had much of a say. There were those occasional times, though, when I think it embarrassed her, like when her little 9 year old cousin came to the hospital she works. Nic was in the ER for a broken foot and told the staff there that his Aunt Boo Boo worked there and it got back to her floor who found it quite amusing that Christina was none other than Aunt Boo Boo! But most of the time, she has taken it in good stride. Even when shopping for wedding dresses, she came out in one gorgeous gown after another so we could both decide which one looked absolutely the best on her and matched her perfectly. Her goal was to look like a princess and naturally I referred to her as Princess Boo Boo. We laughed when I said it, many times that day, but we both knew it was a very special day. This was something we had waited for a long time and were anxious to do together, and the name Boo said so much about how I felt about her as a little baby girl that is only seemed fitting to call her Princess Boo Boo in those wedding gowns. What kind of mommy would I be if I let that moment slip by?
The word Boo is simple, but the love behind it is deep, complex and so full of meaning. All the years growing up, she was Christy to some, Christina to most and to those of us that love her dearly and have known her for years; she is and will always be Boo Boo Precious.
