I have mentioned my sister, Eugene, in several of my posts.  You may be wondering if her name is really Eugene since that is not a girl’s name nor has it been popular since 1950.  It’s not technically her given name, but it’s what I call her.

Her real name is Petunia.

Just kidding.

It’s actually Gloria…..

Ok, fine.  It’s Julia.  But there was some confusion about her name as an infant so for a few seconds it was Gloria.

My great great aunt (my great-grandmother’s sister-in-law. I promise I’m not lying about that one) stopped by my grandparents’ house when my family was visiting just after Eugene/Gloria (Julia) was born.  My great great aunt sat down on the sofa and my mom handed her Eugene/Gloria (Julia).  My great great aunt looked at the new creature adoringly and asked her name.

My Mom: “It’s Julia.”

Great great aunt: “Oh GLORIA! What a beautiful name!”

Everyone in the room: “No, JULIA.”

Silence. The child was then handed back to my mother.

Just kidding.  Everybody moved on pretty quickly and my great great aunt still thought my sister was precious.  But you see the beauty of her being born in the 90’s is that we have this gem on tape and I like to watch it whenever possible for a good laugh.  What really sends me over the edge is that Gloria is not in the top 99% of names my mother would choose for her child.

So now you’re probably wondering why I call her Eugene.  If you knew her, you would realize that she is such a Eugene.  I think the name actually originated from me morphing her name from Julia to Uja, which naturally then became Eugene (duh, isn’t that an obvious progression? No? Well, humor me then).  Needless to say, it stuck and I can’t remember the last time I called her Julia or Gloria.   She is even listed as Eugene in my cellphone.

You may also be wondering if my sister appreciates me calling her Eugene.  I don’t think she minds and she responds to it when I call out to her in public, so I’m going to continue calling her Eugene.

We share a very bizarre sense of humor that only the two of us seem to understand and I believe me calling her Eugene falls into that category.  It’s just part of our special sisterly bond.

If you saw us together, it would be clear instantly that we are sisters.

We’re practically twins!

Not.

(Heels? Really Eugene? Throw me a bone here, would ya?)

So that’s how Eugene got her name.

And every Southerner knows you need a good country name.  You’re welcome, Eugene.

I LAH-ve you.

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Sugarlump