Monday, September 12, 2011

1985 - marsidotes

i don't remember the first time i heard it, but i do remember hearing it a lot. 

for some reason, marsidotes was the nickname that stuck. i liked it. especially when my mom and dad sang me the song about my nickname. for all i knew they had made it up just for me.

there was just one problem: it was long, and it was a word i'd never heard in any other context, so i had no idea how to spell it. 

i distinctly remember writing my dad a note and signing it "marsidotes."

"what does this say?," he asked, pointing to my new signature. 

defeated, i responded, "it says {mare-zee-dotes} - that's what you call me!"

he responded with a chuckle and a grin. and then explained what they had actually been singing. and it suddenly all made sense.

the song {which, by the way, they did not make up - that was news to this four year old}, wasn't a bunch of gibberish and it wasn't, originally, a nickname for girls named maren. it was in fact, a well-known song called mairzy doats

mares eat oats
and does eat oats
and little lambs eat ivy
a kid'll eat ivy too
wouldn't you?

sung to sound like:

mairzy doats 
and dozy doats
and liddle lamzy divey
a kiddley divey too
wooden shoe?
i didn't hear the end of it for a long time from my brother dan. he was certain i was the dumbest person alive for not knowing the real words. but i was certain he was just as clueless as me.

either way, it has long since become a family joke. but the nickname marsidotes still stuck.
{1 month old kelli, maren, scott, dan - february 1985}
  {easter 1985}
 {first dance class, may 1985}
 {summer 1985 with my cabbage patch bangs}
{nurse maren, halloween 1985}

5 comments:

Unknown said...

i know this is all about you but seriously, no mention of my arrival? :) i thought for sure that'd be a highlight of 1985.

mj said...

um...hello...i totally included the picture of your baby blessing!

brittani c. said...

Ha! Didn't I just call it? I can't get that tune out of my head now. When I was in kindergarten, I introduced myself to my class as Brittani Boo--a name my family always called me. I actually thought 'Boo' was my middle name.

Rob and Marseille said...

i'm impressed you could write marsidotes when you were four

Rebecca Parker said...

Mares Eat Oats (or however you write the real title) will forever remind me of Grandpa Kinnersley so that must've been where your dad learned it:) Did you ever hear his song re: pretty little girl who lived uptown? I miss 'em both & Grandma Max too!