Monday 9 January 2017

Daggy mum?

Daggy?


I have a favourite cousin ( I actually have a number of favourite cousins) anyway this one, who I will call Ed, is close to my own age. I don't see a lot of him but we have an odd kind of a bond. When we were kids, Ed lived on the other side of Sydney, I guess an hour or more drive away so we didn't see a lot of each other in those days, either.
Sometimes  Grandpa would ask who wanted to make the trip to Manly to see the cousins and I would inevitably be the one to put my hand up. I remember that at one point in the drive Grandpa would announce that the traffic was heavy and he needed to concentrate so no talking was allowed. He would later announce the end of the tricky bit and we could talk again. This aspect of the journey is pretty much all I can remember of the drive. It was routine and I never thought a lot about it but many years later I mentioned it to my Dad and he said the silence would have been designed to keep Grandma quiet. It's a bit funny because as far as I remember Grandma wasn't that much of a chatterbox! Then again, I am supposedly quite like her so um, yea. Memory is unreliable, right?

Back to my cousin, we were in the same grade at school and for part of each visit my uncle, an interesting man, would send us to separate bedrooms to do maths and later compare our results.
Maybe my relationship with Ed was forged through Saturday afternoon maths exercises and Shredded Wheat dinners......
I haven't heard a lot of Ed lately but yesterday he called me for some baby related information and along with some general catching up, we were talking about my lack of employment. Ed has the ability to speak with total authority, even when he knows little to nothing on the subject, and quickly determined (while showing off his vocabulary) that I should use my "droll, dry, laconic" ability to "turn a phrase" and become the next Mommy blogger sensation. I expressed some concern about my ability to carve a niche in an already full market but Ed was on a roll and he wasn't about to stop. In next to no time he identified my unique selling point as a potential mommy blogger and checked for domain name availability: Daggy Mum of daggymum.com.
Some time ago I posted about my inability (or maybe unwillingness) to develop a specific blogging persona and come to think of it I was the same as a doula, not wanting to brand myself as others do "The Modern Doula", "Birthwise Doula" or "Mamabear Doula".
It might, indeed, be smart to label myself "Daggy Mum", creating a self deprecating, droll and laconic personal brand but what happens on the days I want to be cool, stylish, frugal, thoughtful or perspicacious?

10 comments:

  1. Big smiles. Not a mum, but definitely daggy here. Including on those days when I would like to be cool or stylish.
    How lucky you were to know your cousins. I was in my late forties before I discovered I had any, and they live half a world away.

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    1. Cousins are a little bit like extra brothers and sisters! It's a pity you missed out.


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  2. On those days when you wish to be other than daggy (whatever that is) daggy should always rule the public persona. I like Ed, we both speak with authority to what we know nothing about and I like grandpa, but his tactic would never work with my wife.

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    1. Dag is an Australian/New Zealand word, originally referring to the dried crap and matted wool around a sheep's bum so daggy is a particularly colourful way to say someone has no style.

      I like your wife!

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  3. I don't remember meeting any cousins when I was a kid, but maybe my memory fails me as usual. Our Grandpa used to take us on drives along the Thames Estuary, which were always astonishingly boring.

    As you say, the mommy blogger is a pretty satiated market, but who knows, maybe you could provide a new slant on motherhood? There must be some untapped angle....

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    1. adults always like drives and kids never do. The best they can hope for is an ice cream at the end.

      I will always be a mother but and I wouldnt mind having a well read blog but not a mommy blog. I want to be defined some other way

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  4. Can we have Daggy Chic as in Shabby Chic??? I have also had a terrible time with my ability to brand myself in relation to my calligraphy. I just want to say: Nice writing. Will make invitations and envelopes look really fancy.
    But somehow this little bit of truth doesn't cut it in today's market...
    Sx

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    1. Daggy chic sounds cool, subversive. I like it.

      Plain truth doesnt cut it anywhere. Tell people your calligraphy will make them rich and get them laid, throw in weight loss for good measure. Outrageous unrealistic claims seem to work :)

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  5. The idea for the blog is good but I don't understand the term 'daggy' being added on as to the best of my understanding, it means untidy or something like that! Was he just being funny?

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    1. He was being a little bit funny and commenting on my style (or lack thereof)

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