Thursday, May 22, 2008

My Mowglis

As "Mowgli" is a term I use to refer to my children regularly, I figured it was probably about time I defined it.

Mowgli (pronounced /mow-gli/):

The Official Definition: A fictional character who originally appeared in Rudyard Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" and then went on to become the most prominent and memorable character in his fantasies, The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book.

My Definition: A young child who is in a state of wildness. This can be seen in untidy hair, mussed clothing, and/or bare, dirty feet. This state of being is usually seen in younsters at the end of the day or after playing outside.

Example 1:

Note the ill-fitting shirt, bad hair, and wild eyes

Example 2:

In this case, complete lack of clothing and unstyled hair a Mowgli makes

The term actually originated when my (much younger) cousin Tasha was little. When she'd run around my grandma's house playing, looking so wild and free, she reminded us of Mowgli from the Jungle Book. The term just stuck around after that, being used for my sisters' children and eventually mine too. So, if you ever hear me refer to a child as Mowgli or Mowgli-ish, now you know why.

10 comments:

The Lund Five said...

They may look mussed up and wearing ill-fitted clothing or little clothing, but they are still cute and adorable kids!

Unknown said...

I like the term! and I love little Mowgli kids, messed up and dirty is how we like 'em!

Smiley Family said...

I LOVE it! I think I will start using that term, it is perfect:)

Zachary said...

Whitney I love the fact that you work in classical literature into your children's lives at such a young age!

Nathan and Esther said...

lololol that was pretty funny; however, your children still look great even in the 'mowgli' state!

Jenni said...

lol I like the term!

Jenny said...

Hmmm...so that's what my child is really called. She definitely has messy hair, dirty clothes, and a wild sense of adventure in her eyes. Tell Lib hi and I miss her blog posts!

Zachary said...

So I just watched the movie "Twister" in Blu-Ray. I have SO much more respect for people out in the Tornado Way now. Wow! Scary.

Coty said...

that's hilarious whitney...Jared calls our boys mowglis too. Guess when the shoe fits...lol.

Anonymous said...

Oh, how I laughed at this post. Even though we use this phrase frequently it never, ever gets old. I loved the mowgli pictures...it is true though, they are still quite adorable even at their very mowgli-ish states.