"Beach Names"

One day while we were in Myrtle Beach, I took the kids to the pool.  Olivia and MaryAnn, GranGran's neighbor, took off to play together.  McIver made friends with some 11 year old girls at the other end of the pool.  They were thoroughly entertaining each other so I didn't get involved.

About 30 minutes later, one of the girls came over to me...

Girl:  Umm, ma'am?  We've like made friends with your son and wondered if he can, like, come to the beach with us.  You don't have to come or anything because my mom's like right over there and she'll watch us.

The beach is 'like totally' a long way from the pool, so I told her that I would go to the beach and watch them, but stay a respectable distance so that they could have their fun.

Girl (turning to McIver):  Okay, Thomasl you're mom said we can go to the beach.

Me:  Excuse me?  His name is McIver.

Girl:  Well, he, like, told us that people make fun of his name, so we should, like, call him Thomas.

For those who don't know, McIver's first name is Thomas, so calling him that is not out of the question.  I can't believe that my 5 year old is already giving out a 'beach name.'

I packed up our beach bag and followed them to the beach.  McIver ATE UP all the attention of the older girls!  And they never once called him McIver.