By Linda Matchan, Globe Staff
As the youth-obsessed baby boomers advance, albeit reluctantly, into the next phase of their lives, they are embracing grandparenthood with the same gusto they have expressed for everything else, be it exercise or adventure travel. They’re loading the grandkids’ video games onto their own iPods, listening to their music, and taking them on trips.
But grandparenting comes with a catch: It means you are getting old – or at least older. And that’s not sitting well with a generation that grew up on The Who singing, “I hope I die before I get old.” Sure, they want to be grandparents. Just don’t call them that.
Call them, say, “David” or “Margot.” David and Margot de Ferranti’s grandson does. “Being on a first-name basis with your grandkids is great,” said David, 63, an economist who lives near Washington, D.C., and has a grandson in Boston. “I can delude myself that I’m 20 years younger than I really am, and they can tackle me on their terms, not as an ancient relic.”
“I didn’t like any of the names I heard people calling grandmothers,” Margot, also 63, explained. “I’d rather hear someone calling me ‘Margot’ than ‘Grandma’ in public.”
What’s wrong with “Grandma”?
“It has such baggage with it,” said Lin Wellford, 57, co-author of “The New Grandparents Name Book,” a compendium of suggestions inspired by her becoming a grandparent.
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