and she shall be called...

Goodness, I never dreamed coming up with my grandmother title would be so difficult. In fact, I thought it was the grandchild's job, not mine! But the pressure's on: not only from the new parents, but from friends and family as well.

In four days I'll hold my new granddaughter, Ari, for the first time: my first GRANDCHILD, that is. And if I don't come up with a name soon, we might just never bond.

Pat Snyder, a local columnist, wrote a funny piece on this topic recently. She asserts that according to Maridel Bowes, author of Who Are You Calling Grandma?: True Confessions of a Baby Boomer's Passage, the term "Grandma" is considered passe among baby boomers. Ack. I certainly don't want to be uncool. I mean, I'm still wearing jeans and tennis shoes and riding a bike!

My own grandmothers had odd nicknames: My dad's mom was Memaw (which rhymes with seesaw, and my sister and I used to perform a silly gymnastic feat using these words. No, thanks.) And we called my maternal grandmother by her real name, Dorothy. I don't know how it ever started and she detested it. She was a fabulous grandma nonetheless.

The name "Baba" occurred to me: this is what our first-born called me when he heard Bill call me Barbara. When I researched Googled 'Baba,' I discovered it does indeed mean 'grandmother' in Serbian. So why not?

Then (can you believe this?) I came across a quiz to determine a fitting grandmother name ... here are the results:

You are a modern, active, no-nonsense grandmother. Your children may get frustrated that you're not often home to babysit, but your grandchildren will appreciate your energy and enthusiasm. They may not appreciate it when you beat them at tennis. You love sports (what??), either as a spectator or as a participant, or even both. People say that you don't look like a grandmother. Nan, Gran, Grandmom, Nina or Mema suit your grandmothering style.

Ari's other grandma is well settled with her name, Grammy, since this is her third grandchild. It'll be a relief when the subsequent grandkids arrive and I'll already be named. Honestly, I don't care what I'm called, as the saying goes: just so they call me, hug and kiss me.

So, what do you think? If you have a good and (note to my sons) appropriate grandma nickname for me to consider, please get it to me quick. Within four days!