Jennifer asked in a comment the other day if my blog is named “BooMama” because I call my little boy “Boo.”
Yes. That is correct, your honor.
I wonder if people maybe think that it’s my nickname, if they think that my friends call me on the phone and say, “Hey, BooMama, what’s going on?”
But that is not the case. Praise the Lord, that is not the case.
And “Peaches” is my nickname, in case you were wondering. At least in my family (though come to think of it, Bubba calls me that, too). And somehow a blog called “Peaches” just seemed wrong, all wrong, though I’m sure that whoever has a blog called “Peaches” is doing an absolutely lovely job with it.
So here’s how “BooMama” came to pass.
My husband and I lived in south Louisiana when we were first married. We loved our time there – wonderful people, colorful culture, and the food…oh, the food. Divine, the food is.
But the grammar? From time to time? Not so great.
I realize that I must throw these regional grammatical stones very gently because I am a native of Mississippi who now lives in Alabama, and therefore I have little if any wiggling room in the area of proper English usage. I mean, if you could hear my Southern accent? Wow. It’s bad. Or I should say, “Baaa-yad,” because that’s what the word sounds like when I say it. Saaaaaay it. :-)
But here’s the deal. Some south Louisianians – some, not most – do not see any need for an apostrophe. Or a possessive pronoun. They simply form a possessive phrase by putting one noun in front of another (and if you live down there, you know exactly what I’m talking about).
Allow me to illustrate:
“All right – I’ll be at Mamaw house if you need me.”
“I may be running a little late because I have to stop by Daddy office.”
“Y’all be careful since y’all drivin’ Suzy car.”
It used to entertain us to no end. That part of the world is fun and unique for many reasons, and the language tics are the icing on the proverbial king cake.
Somehow, after Alex was born and his daddy started calling him “Boo,” every possessive phrase regarding Alex took on a south Louisiana flavor: “Did you wash Boo pajamas? Did you put Boo in he bed? Did you remember Boo diaper?” And on. And on. And on.
It only stands to reason that I would become “BooMama.” It was a matter of consistency, really.
We did have to ease up on our Boo slang once Alex started talking, because we didn’t want him to walk in his kindergarten class saying, “This is Alex lunch. I need to give you my mama note, because after school I’m goin’ to Charlie house!”
It’s bad enough that he’ll be saddled with this whole “BooMama” deal for the rest of his life. I can only hope that Boo will understand he mama sense of humor.
Oh, boomama, you tickled my funny bone to no end! Every part of our country, and world for that matter, has it’s own dialect and vernacular, and I for one am fascinated by the varied language we speak. I tend to write like I speak to some extent, but it’s mostly for flavor, and I do know the correct usage and punctuation, for the most part.
Our differences and peculiarities are what give us character and individuality. :)
Just think, Alex will have lots of material to draw his language from, with all the places you’ve lived and picked up expressions and inflections, and both your families and your friends. ;)
I can easily turn a 1 syllable word into 3 or 4 syllables, myself, and I almost never, unless I concentrate on it, pronounce the “g” on a word ending in “ing”. As my Mama used to say, (LOL!) “If you lay down with dogs, you’re gonna get fleas.” If you hear it all the time, you tend to speak that way. ;)
My husband and I called my oldest daughter Boo all the time. I put the kabosh on that while I was pregnant with my second. I was at the OB for one of my many exams and I took Boo with me, as usual. Just before I left, the nurse midwife looked at my daughter and said, “Bye, Boo.”
You see, I was using the nickname so much that the people in the office didn’t know it wasn’t her real name.
Don’t worry, I set them straight right quick! (That’s a little country-ism that tickles this Connecticut native.)
What is it with the use of “Boo”? You know, Jody calls MR his “little Boo” (in addition to Papsie, Pappy, etc.); I have NO idea how any of these originated, but apparently there is need to nickname your little people– and apparently “Boo” is quite popular.
One more thing– my brother-in-law claims that MANY people arrive at Southeast Lauderdale kindergarten not knowing their real names. In other words, they fail to answer the roll for the first few days because they are used to answering to “Shug, Boolie, etc.”
Loved your explanation! Now I’ll know how to hear it in my head when I read it.
I’m also from the south, and though I don’t have as much of a distinct drawl as some of my relatives do, some words just can’t be said any other way.
I think I’ll do me a relative “isms” post.
You make me laugh, girl!
Thanks for stopping by my blog–I’ve now read several of your posts and laughed at all of them! And I’m married to a deep Southerner (because as we all know, Texas is NOT the South. Not the real South, anyway, despite what Texans think.), so I feel right at home reading about youe life. I think I can imagine the drawl right now . . . I’ll be back!
Boomama, I edited my last post and added some pictures of poke salad for you, as well as cooking instructions. Shoot, it’s a “how to cook” layout, LOL. ;) I answered your question in comments, and it mushroomed from there. :)
Sorry to everyone else for the off-topic comment. ;)
Merritt – I’m so very tickled by the fact that you said “shout out” and “peace out” in the same comment. Cracks me up.
Addie – I would love to hear your Reese meets Scarlett Southern accent. Do you know how to use the word “fixin'”? You have to know that to do a really good Southern drawl. Like, “I’m fixin’ to start supper” or “We’re fixin’ to run to the grocery store – do y’all need anything?”
Diane – I read and commented over at your place. Thanks for all the info. And I have never pronounced an “ing” sound in my life. Ever.
Sarah – I went back to your blog and discovered that you have a diet Coke obsession. I felt a sudden and instant kinship with you as a result. :-) I LOVE IT. LOVE IT.
Faith – We speak the same language, you and I. By the way, I need to email you b/c Daddy thinks our families are connected. You KNOW they are. It’s the South, after all.
Brenda – I’ll be on the lookout for your “isms” post…stuff like that is so funny to me for some reason.
Lou – When I came downstairs from getting A. in the bed, D. was dying out laughing – at your comment. Yet another reason why it is probably a good idea that we stopped calling A. “Boo” so much.
Lori – You talk some mighty fine Southern talk, you do. :-)
Dearest BooMama,
Allow me to correct you, if I may…and I will, because I am Big Sister. :)
There is no such thing as a bad Southern accent! The End.
Oh, and I hope we’re related to Faith! :)
Point well taken, Sister. Point well taken.
Have I told you the whole Faith connection yet? I think I have…that her married name is our maiden name, and her hubby is from a place where a bunch of our “folks” relocated?
I’ll call you tomorrow when I hit the road…
i was entirely unaware of that particular style of speech until this post. (and yes, i did think people called you boomama on the phone)
Now I hear how ya’ll sound when ya’ll say it. So is D called BooDaddy?
By the way, I don’t know if it has to do with the combination of watching Beth Moore and talkin’ to you, but lately (especially when scolding the kids) I’ve been tappin’ into southern roots that I do not have. Think Scarlett O’Hara meets Reese Witherspoon. I’m sure it’s not even close, but it entertains me enough! :)
This one’s for you, BooMama! I’m still here!
Shout out to Bubba, Daph, TT, BooDaddy and Laura! Peace out!
LOL! I also call my kids boo.Yes, both of them. I’ll be messing their names up sooner or later so why not just get them used to it from the beginning right? I used to call them pooh, but I decided if someone did get the “Winne The” reference they may think I was calling them poo–which would sound tacky!
Well finally I find that you now live in Alabama. Which explains why I feel like I know you…….b/c I too live/am from Alabama.
I also was wondering about the name, so that clears that up too!
Wow. I grew up in TX and now live in Baton Rouge, and you are soooo right. The first thing I noticed when we moved here was the… unusual accent and grammar. And for some unknown reason, my MIL calls me Boo! NO IDEA why.
The deep South is just weird. :-P