Family History Through The Alphabet: Letter O

O is for Othermum. 

When I was a small child, I thought that everyone had an ” Othermum” in their family.

Othermum  was my grandmother, Leola Jean  Morrison nee Waters, my mother’s mother. She was Othermum to all the grandchildren. I don’t think I even knew of the existence of the words Nanna and and Grandma until I went to school. I can remember asking my friends why they didn’t call their Nanna –  Othermum.

So how did my grandmother come to be known as Othermum?  There’s a story about how this came about, but I have never verified it with anyone. Actually I’ve never really thought to ask, because Othermum is such a normal name to me and not something that I’ve spent much time wondering about.

The story goes that my mother and her sister, as adults with children were at their mother’s house.  Of course they would call their mother, Mum.  One day my cousin was calling “Mum”.  Her mother asked what she wanted and she said “I’m not calling you, I called the Other Mum”. And that’s how this wonderful name for my grandmother came about.

I did secretly hope as a younger person that one day any grandchildren I might have, would call me Othermum. But of course, as always happens, small children make their own decisions about these things. My eldest Grandson JAKE decided on my name.

I am Nanny Jenny and happy to be so.

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