Who am I again?

A lot of parents I know complain about how they can hardly remember who they are anymore. Their names,  personalities, and interests disappear, and they become "Mom", "Dad", or "So-and-so's parent." They vaguely remember having a name, but they're not entirely sure what it is or even how long ago someone called them by it. Spouses and significant others are just as guilty of using nicknames to refer to one another. "Hon!" "What, dear?" "Hey, Babe!" "Yes, honey?" "Schmoopsie poo!" "Call me that again and I'm contacting a divorce lawyer!" Okay, so maybe not all of us tolerate terms of endearment well.

It becomes an absolute joy to notice another adult on the street and to try and strike up a conversation that doesn't involve mostly monosyllables and instructions to keep one's hands to oneself. Kidlets roll their eyes and try to tug Mom's arms out of their sockets while Mom blathers away aimlessly about anything at all, as long as they can talk to a person who remembers that they have a name. Chores at home are forgotten. Errands are put on hold. Pretty much anything that can be postponed will be for as long as possible in the hopes of hearing someone say your name so you can remember what it is again.

Of course, here's where Mommy Brain comes into play. Names no longer flow off the tongue. You know that you know the person to whom you are talking. You know they have a name. You won't call them Mom, Mommy, Hon, Sweetie, or anything like that, but darned if you can remember what you're supposed to call them! Asking the kidlets provides no help whatsoever, because chances are they will just look at you blankly and ask, "You mean Sandy's mom?"

Poor parents never stand a chance at having their names remembered.

Rooster has decided to take my lack-of-identity to even higher levels. It's not good enough that I'm "Rooster's Mommy" to all of her friends. She now forgets to call me Mommy. Just this past week alone, I've been called by names of other people, including Pig, Horse, Pig Jr., her teacher, her teacher's aide, and her grandmother. She always giggles when she messes up what to call me, so I'm not entirely sure she is doing this accidentally. Sometimes, she even goes through multiple names before finally settling on Mommy.

I would probably be more offended by this if I could remember her name to scold her, but I'm too busy running through the list all of the kidlets' names before finally figuring out which one she is. "Horse, Rooster, Pig Jr.! Oh, you know who you are! Who am I again?"