Cougar or Kitten?

So the New Moon movie has grown women howling at the midnight premiere showing. I have read the series up through Eclipse. Not because I am interested in a young adult book, but because I was previewing them for age appropriate content for my pre-teen daughter. I am a mother that is what I do. A tepid kiss, some longing stares and some immature, pseudo alpha possessiveness pretty much sums up the romance of the first two books. I just don't understand what makes make women over the age of 30, 35 and 40 go ga-ga over Edward and Jacob. If you want to know possessiveness in a vampire book, read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward! These guys make Edward and Jacob look like fledglings.

Anyay, I totally understand the teenage crush. Back in 1984, I LOVED Billy Idol. I mean, I would actually have tears in my eyes just hearing his songs, seeing his picture, or heaven help me, seeing him live in Saratoga Springs a few years later. This punk guy with the spiky hair, emaciated body, leather pants hugging the butt just right,tattoos and sneering grin set the precedent for every guy I had a "thing" for, for the following 10 years. At some point, one of my friends termed my type of guy as the "Ethiopian, albino greaser". I could have sworn, and I am sure a few friends would have agreed, I was destined to marry the musician that was down on his luck. In the end I found Rico Suavé, who is not the musician, nor the Ethiopian albino greaser of my yesteryears.

But all this makes me think, am I missing something with this lurve that "mature" ladies are feeling for the vamp and wolf boy? I think not.

Many years ago, my Mom and I would argue over who was better looking, Robert Redford or Paul Newman- (think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)- and I remember thinking as a kid, but they are so old!

Now as a discerning 41 year old, I so completely get the sexiness of the man with a few laugh lines, some greying at the temples, the scarred or nicked hands that show hard work with pride, and the self-confidence that comes with experience and knowledge. I am just not attracted to the youthful swagger of these newbies. I sometimes am amazed that I will look over the hunky 25 year old guy for the 45 year old guy with some sign of maturity. Long gone are the skinny dudes in my viewer, now I need a guy with some heft (I said some heft, not hefty). Think Gerard Butler in 300, Eric Bana in Black Hawk Down, Jason Statham in Transporter, Richard Gere in anything.... just to name a few.

With so many great older guys out there to choose from, why do these women want to be a Cougar to the 25 year old (or younger) actor, when they could be a Kitten to a man that has the wisdom to make them purr?

What's in a name?

Obviously Chippy is not my real name, but rather a nickname given to me by my husband when we first started dating. He has never told me why he calls me that despite my pestering. I suspect it has to do with my need to chatter about the day's events.

I never really had a nickname growing up. I had a typical 70's name, but it couldn't really be shortened into anything. I had the same music teacher throughout middle school and high school that spun a variation of my name, but that was really the only person that called me anything other than my real name (at least to my face).

When I was in my 20's I had a very good friend that referred to me as the "cute polish girl". I am positive being Polish had something to do with it. He used it mainly when he was jealous or awed by my cute polishness. Actually, it started because I had a tendency to be heavy on the gas pedal during road trips, and had a real aversion to driving 55 mph. So anyway, I just started passing the NY State Troopers on the thruway, or I-81. Somehow I never got stopped. My friend would sarcastically say, "Oh look, there goes the cute polish girl, we can't stop her."
I loved when he called me the cutepolishgirl, it made me feel young, carefree, energetic, special.

Now, I go by Chippy. Cutepolishgirl is still alive in the 25 year old side of me, but her identity never really progressed past those initial feelings. I still have a sense of the cutepolishgirl inside me, but she was taken over by Chippy and became just a facet of Chippy's personality. On the other hand, Chippy has mutated and adapted over the 15 years I have known my husband.

Being Chippy offers me a sense of belonging, a sense of unending love, a sense of hopefulness for the future, a sense of committment and a sense of contentment, I know my husband is upset with me when he calls me by my real name.

Does anyone else have a nickname that identifies who they really are? Can one name sum up your whole being? If you could pick your own nickname, would you and what would it be?

By the by, my secret nickname for my husband is Rico Suavé. But that is for a different post.