Thanks Mom!

i used to hate my name. in french it sounds harsh with the gutteral "r" in the middle.  ma-rrreeze. when i was a kid, my mother's shrill cry when she'd call me in for dinner was like fingernails on a chalkboard. why couldn't she have named me sophie? in english it sounds dumb.  ma-reese.  and that's when people get it right.  every september, on the first day of school, i would sit there in class, while my new teacher would hesitate, shift in his or her place, take a deep breath and call me something like maurice, marcy, marysay, or my favorite, morris.  (morris?) 

but now, i love it.  and let me tell you why. 

last friday, along with my boyfriend and assorted other bloggy friends, i went to grafton to meet the yarn harlot.  i knew i was at the right place when i saw this:

since i got there a little early, i was able to push my way through to the front where i sat on the floor cross legged much like i had as a kindergartener during story hour, while stephanie, perched on a stool, told us about the social challenges of being a knitter who writes books about knitting.

after her talk, all 2,363 of us stood in line while she signed our books.  when it was my turn, i handed her the piece of paper with my name spelled out on it.  (brilliant idea by the way -- at least i didn't have to go through the "my name?  maryse.  yes, maryse.  yes maurice is a man's name, but that's not my name.  it's ma-reese.  let me spell it for you ...." drill.) 

"you're maryse from the comments?" she asked.

"yes" i nodded.

"yeah, i've read your blog. you're funny"  (or something like that.  i was a little nervous).

*singing angels*

i'd like to think that if my name had been susan, lisa, or karen (my best friend from high school's name is karen.  there were 3 karens out of 36 girls in our graduating class) that she might have taken notice of me.  but i would be lying to myself. 

a maryse by any other name would just be another knitting fan.  so thanks mom and dad. 

*********

the fun did not end there though. 20 or so of us ended up at the canyon cafe in westborough where we pretty much took over the place. 

in summary:

1.  knitting is such a quiet "sport" it's amazing how loud we can get. 

2.  if asked what kind of group this is by a nice man out to dinner with his lovely family (who were very good natured about having a bunch of rowdy knitters sitting around them) , don't be surprised if you hear the sound of crickets in response to your "um, we're knitters" answer.  stephanie had mentioned this phenomenon earlier.  to actually experience it with her in such close proximity made me want to grab her by the arm and exclaim "oh my god you were right!" 

3.  when in doubt, tell people it's a bachelorette party.  just randomly select a bride and go for it.

4.  i'm glad for sandy that i don't drive a honda and that there aren't that many minis west of route 128.  she can't comment on a blog post (noooo, that would be too easy), but she will leave me notes on my car.

5.  j met us later on.  oh sure, not as comfortable with the bridesmaids (see number 3) as dale, but i think he did ok. i'm glad he came.  except that now he wants to read the blog.

phew.  i think i'm all caught up.

 

Comments

[Kathy]

You are so right about the name. There are only about 1 million "Kathy"s born between in the 1950s/1960s.

[Kathy]

Sounds like you had a fabulous time! Last time Lauren was out this way, we had the exact same reaction when there were 20-ish of us at a back table at a restaurant, rowdy and loud as can be. The blank looks we got when someone would answer, "erm, we're knitters...and most of us have just met in person for the first time" to "what kind of celebration is this?" were priceless. Should have gone with bachelorette party.

[Jenifer]

Oh, that's a great story! I love it! And you of course know that my French name in HS French was Maryse. :) I just thought it sounded so sophisticated in French (of course, what name doesn't?!). That comes from being, of course, a "Jennifer" though I do at least spell it with one N.

[grumperina]

Morris? Hahahahaha! That's a good one. I would have loved to see you roll your eyes at that teacher!

It definitely pays to be unique. Yup.

[melanie]

Dude, you're are more than just funny, you are freakin' hysterical. Great name, great car, great personality. Oh, and great baby gift giver!!

[claudia]

Well, you ARE funny. In all sorts of ways.

;-)

It was a pleasure to meet J. Now I'm wondering exactly WHY he wants to read the blog....

[Beth S.]

I've always liked interesting names. When you're given one that is monosyllabic, you long for a bit of color and romance. ;-)

[Kim]

I'm jealous, yo. What a fun night!

I admit, I had several possible pronunciations of your name in mind when we met. I didn't want to have to pick, though, so you may or may not have noticed that I didn't actually call you by name until after you introduced yourself to Josie. This was not so much out of discomfort; I assumed you've spent your whole life patiently (or not so patiently) pronouncing your name for those of us who don't get it right the first time. With a name like Kim, I've never really had that problem. But, see, my name is *not* Kimberly. When I was little, I used to feel hugely misunderstood if someone assumed my name is Kimberly (crocodile tears, baby; I'm so over that, now). So even though I can't relate to the pronunciation thing, I'm still keen not to screw it up.

[Sara]

I adore your name... it's lovely. Although growing up in Maine with a very large french canadian population doesn't make it seems so unusual to me, you know? I grew up hating the name Sara for the same reasons you mentioned later in your post- I had three in my kindergarten class, and by the time I was a senior in high school, I knew at least 15 Saras. It didn't help, either, that people would sing that Starship song to me nonstop.

Anyway... I love that knitting bumper sticker! How cute!

[Martha]

It's true that you have a reputation. You *are* pretty free and easy with those soap and tissue cozies! ;)

I love your name, although it recently occurred to me that you might hate it. My brothers called me Maurice growing up (my nickname was Marce, which mutated into Mau-rrrrr-eeese, trilled r) and I hated that. And that made me aware that I need to be more careful to say "mahryse" so it doesn't accidentally sound like Maurice. 'Cause if you're not paying attention, it can come out like that.

You know what name I love in French and hate in English? Genevieve. Such a lovely name and English just bollocks it up.

[Debbie]

I love your name! I always wish my parents had spoken french to us at home so I could be bilingual. So any chance I have to use French (or in my case, French Canadian) pronunciation, I'll take it. I love yelling "Bonjour, Maryse!" when I see you.

And I'm telling you, Maryse, you're a rock star in the making. Everyone knows you, everyone loves you. Stephanie actually remembered the sweater you put on my soap! You've got a reputation, sister.

[Bookish Wendy]

I'm kind of sad I didn't get to meet my competition up close and personal. He was way on the other side of my food. ;)

[Chris]

Too cool!!!

[Kate]

J handled himself just fine! Plus we are all so happy to have met him and his big ass truck :-)

That Sandy... she's a sneaky one.

[Jodi]

I'm so jealous!! AND I want that bumper sticker.

[colleen]

Oh man, I'm sorry that I couldn't go. As expected it sounds like it was one fun time.

[Scribbles & Bits]

That is awesome that she recognized you!

[Carole]

It was so much fun and I'm glad Steph knew who you were! Of course, she's right, you are very funny.