The Cher Affection

In one of our earliest email communications while getting to know one another, Gil deftly penned me a note. I puzzled over it for hours. You see, he had written: "As for you, cher, I find . . ."

I simply could not understand WHY he was calling me Cher. (I knew I was attractive to him and all, but . . .CHER?!? {chuckle!})

It soon became known, due to my curiosity, that cher is actually a Cajun phrase. A French deriviative of endearment used by Acadians swamp-wide. Essentially, it means "dear". Over time, I've become accustomed to hearing the term repeatedly when visiting [Cajun] relatives.

What occurred over the weekend, however, took the term to a whole new level! Let me explain. [Visual, please . . .]

Here is Keller St John, comfortably seated on his 'couch' (so termed by a couple of young retail-employed gals last week). This nifty device provides a couple of things, namely, a sense of security and closeness for the babe, and hands free living for me, the mom. From this vantage point, Keller can explore life and discover all things neat-o:

Well, we entered a restaurant , downtown Lafayette, the heart of Cajun-land, Sunday noon with Keller sleeping in his aforementioned 'couch'. I could immediately feel an 'all eyes on her' moment. I'd never experienced so many people curious about 'what's in the denim blue wrapper-thing-y she's wearing' at one time. I gracefully navigated the premises, and took my seat, stationed (you guessed it) smack-dab in the middle of the dining room.

All was well for some time. Then, Keller awoke.

He struggled.

He stretched.

He demanded to be let out!

Scooping him out of his comfy little nest, a strange phenomena began to occur: around the room a chorus of whispered "Oh, cher!" rose to a crescendo.

Like a song, one would speak, then another, then another, and yet another still, until the entire room was filled with a cadence of sound ~ a peculiar notation of cultural delight.

Strangers were entering our space. All wanted to see the "Cher te bebe" . . .and Keller's grandparents swelled with pride.

As they should. After all, Keller St. John is just that: A "cher te bebe", a dear little babe.

:)