I don't call my parents by any of the following names: Mom, Mommy, Ma'ma, Dad, Daddy, Sir, and so on. What I do call them is their given birth names, Brian and Joanne. Most people, especially in the south, would probably have a heart attack if they heard me do this. They would likely view it as disrespecting my elders.

Well, guess what? I don't see it as disrespectful, and clearly, my parents don't either.

Here's the truth. I've been calling my parents their names since I was about 15-years-old, and I don't see myself stopping any time soon. You're probably wondering why I ever started to in the first place, as I had called them Mom and Dad since I could talk. My first words were probably Mom and Dad, but let me get back to you on that one. To be honest, it makes my life, and theirs as I see it, that much easier. When we are in a crowd and everyone's calling their parent's by parental status, I've got it easy:

"Hey, Joanne, look to your left for your wonderful daughter, Jilly."

And when addressing my parents around other adults I like for them to know their names other than Mr. and Mrs. Eder:

"This is Joanne, and this is Brian, my parentals"

Yeah, I call them my parentals as well.

I could give numerous reasons for why I call them by their names. One being I see other extended family members do it. And when you have those large family gatherings all you have to do is call their name and you only have one dad out of the seven looking at you because their names are NOT all Brian.

I also find I get more of a reaction and immediate attention when I do it. I like to say my parents are always in work mode, which isn't bad at all, but since they don't go around calling their co-workers Mom and Dad just because their kids do, I call them their names, and they instantly pay attention. This is a dream come true if you ask me. I broke the system; they can no longer ignore us.

The last reason I can blame for this madness is just trying to be an adult. You know that thing we all eventually have to do against our will? Yeah, well in high school we also thought it was easier when speaking of our parents to use their names. So we did.

"Well, Nancy and Tim will not be at the parent lunch tomorrow because they want to play golf. What about Anne and Bill?"

It was easier for sure, but it became funny when we all knew each other's parent's names, like a test we were studying for.

I'd also like to thank my parentals for forcing me to explain to everyone when I filled out forms that the "bj" in their joint email address was for Brian and Joanne. Parents are great! Right?