Nicknames, or How Many Brothers DO You Have?

The DNB is a nickname that those of you who knew me when and knew me well will recognize. The letters used to stand for "Dysfunctional Non-Boyfriend." They don't mean that to me anymore, but are a reminder of our history that I'll post on at some point, much later.

I have nicknames for most of the people I am closest to, a few I am not, and the occasional individual I really don't like. Sometimes there's a reason, but mostly it's what came out once and I went with it. My favorite has to be "Kristen-Misten-Mademizel-Botatizel," a title I gave my sister years and years ago and which I take great pleasure in using to this day. Before you judge, it's better than "Heifer," an ironic and short-lived nickname around which I even created a backstory: it was her original name before our parents adopted her; they changed it to be nice. She's studying to be a counselor, so I assume someday she'll have a break-through and be able to articulate just how badly that scarred her in the very few moments between when I bestowed the nickname and when I heard my mom calling me downstairs using my full, given name.