History of a nickname

Papou: French for Papuan: a member of any of the native peoples of New Guinea and adjacent areas of Melanesia


When I was pregnant, I looked at pictures of embryos. Small bodies, big heads, big black eyes... So I nicknamed my baby "The Alien", which absolutely horrified my girlfriends. Héhé. Well, there was "something" growing in me, that would eventually come out in a pool of blood...I think it was a very appropriate nickname.
When he was born, I was still living in the States. The nickname changed to "the papoose" because there was hardly a time when I was not carrying him.
Then we moved back to Quebec, in a French speaking environment. The papoose became the Papou. He was a little guy, very strange, which screamed a lot, moved very fast, and came with no instructions whatsoever. I often felt as lost with him as I would have with a short painted aboriginal, speaking an odd language, with different traditions and a bone in his nose. Hence the nickname "Papou". It stuck somehow. Even though my son's name is Yannick, I still, most of the time, call him "Pap"...and he answers it :)


Photo: Vince