my wife, pam, loves working with the 9th & 10th grade girls within our student ministry. she leads one of our sunday school classes for the age group and does an amazing job with them. some time in the past her group started sharing nicknames and other things that they had been called in their past. when pam was in eighth grade some of her classmates decided it would be great to call her “pampon” – combining her name (pam) with the feminine hygiene product (tampon). it was a real middle school thing to do.
in a moment of openness pam told this nickname to her girls. of course, being 9th and 10th grade girls several of them started calling her “pampon”. it is a great inside joke. only the girls in her group know it and they only use it in a “family” manner that is full of love.
today pam went to the grocery story and as she was walking out to her car she heard “pampon” shouted out by one of her girls that saw her across the parking lot. all the other people walking across the parking lot got a good laugh out of the name. “pampon” is a great thing to have to answer to.