Why "Oz"?

I love children.  I have none of my own, but I have been fortunate in my life to have had many young children growing up around me.  My sister had three children that lived with us when I was in my teens and who I was very close to then.  They called me Titi Laura.  After college I moved to live with my brother in California and he had two boys who I watched grow up. They called my Yawyee.   My youngest brother had four children that I visited often when I was in my thirties.  They lived near my mother.  To them I was simply Tia or Laura.  It is not what they called me of course that matters, it is how we felt about each other and the important role we fill in one another's lives.  I was happy to have them in mine.  They all taught me much.  I have enjoyed watching these children grow and become the adults they are today.  But this story is about how I got the nickname Oz.

In 1998 I moved to St. Croix. Our neighbors were a young couple just beginning married life; Chris and Kerri.    We became fast friends.    In 2000 C&K had a baby boy.  His name is Ethan.   Shortly after, in 2002, he got a little sister, Olivia.    Ethan named me Oz.   The story is short and simple, as most stories about nicknames are.

Chris and Kerri are business owners and once Olivia was a few month old they both had to go back to work.  They hired a nanny, Maria, to take care of the babies during the day.  Ethan had just learned to walk.  Maria had a daily schedule for the kids and each day after their afternoon naps she would put Olivia in the stroller and get Ethan's shoes on and head out for a walk.  Their daily path took them all around my house and often I would know they were coming and would sit out on the steps with them and visit and play.  It became a daily ritual to go to Laura's House in the afternoons. 

Now Ethan was not a brave child.  He was always cautious.  One day, as the time for the daily walk approached, Maria was surprised to find that Ethan had put on his own shoes and was heading out the door on his own.  "Ethan... where are you going?" Maria asked.  He quickly replied "I go Oz.".  Not quite understanding what he was saying, Maria asked him again.  He explained "I go Oz".  He was going to Laura's.  He could not pronounce the initial "Lore" part of my name, but he could do the "awes" part.  Maria loved this and re-inforced it.  Each day from then on she would tell him to get ready to go to "Oz"... and they would come visit me.   Each time when he would see me he would yell out "Oz" with great excitement.

The nickname stuck.  Soon, his parents called me Oz.  His sister only knew me as Oz.  His Grandma called me Oz.  His Nanny and PawPaw called me Oz.  John called me Oz when the kids were around and even I began to  call myself Oz. 

 I have become Oz and I love it. 

Ethan has long since learned to pronounce my name properly, but he still calls me Oz and I hope he always does.

I love the family that calls me Oz. :)