What's In A Name?

I'm really new to this blog thing. The running my mouth part I'm pretty good at but post/edit/layout/settings/ and on and on and on - so much to learn. And clicking the help icon is a lot like pushing the elevator button - it doesn't work any better or faster if you just keep clicking.

One of the things most confusing/amusing is all the identities I've had to take on. Until the past couple of years I really used the computer for work only. I can mail merge, sort/de-dupe/quantify that database - I can create Excel formulas, I work on Windows and DOS but ...

I can't get that freakin' photo to sit next to my latest name!

I kept Dianne (I think that's me) but needed to have new e-mail addresses and new passwords. I joined the community of my favorite blog and had to pass through two portals of hell.

In the interest of my sanity and short term memory issues I chose "HiHiDi" as my blog/creative/fun persona. Every time I see it I smile.

My oldest niece - older daughter of my baby bro - inadvertently gave me the name. As a baby she called me Di (nothing original there) but she delighted in saying "Hi Di" and would greet me a dozen times each time I re-entered the room. When prompted to say Hi to me she took to saying "Hi HiDi" and cuteness ruled.

She's a college senior now but I can still hear her say "Hi HiDi", I can still see the most beautiful smile and giant brown eyes. And the memories flow from there - She'd say "poo-lee-oh" for pillow, she had a favorite bedtime tape and when it was over she'd scream "It's Over, It's Over" until someone came to flip the cassette. She'd escape from her crib and roam the house in the middle of the night, being intentionally noisy cause she just wanted everyone to wake up and play.

I have the picture of her in my brother's arms, she's as big as his head! She wasn't a tiny baby - we all have big heads. Never been able to wear a hat like a lady.

She was the first child in the family other than my baby boy - who was 13 when she was born. I was such a trail-blazer! At my son's wedding my brother thanked him for making him the only uncle in the third grade, therefore the COOLEST third-grader.

And today - she's quick and clever, kind and sarcastic, strong and responsible, funny and sweet - she gets stuff beyond her years. She's beautiful inside and out and every time I use "HiHiDi" to get past one more login, one more URL, one more barrier - I smile way more than I cuss.