Each weekday morning I devote two hours to Rosie O'Donnell's Sirius/XM radio show. Rosie and her team present many viewpoints that I've never considered before, and discuss topics that just wouldn't otherwise come across my radar screen. It's quite mind-expanding for this ex-Adventist girl who was never taught to think for herself. They're going off the air soon, as Rosie prepares for her new TV show on Oprah's new network. I don't know what XM has planned to fill that time, but my mornings will be far less interesting. (And I may have to invest in a new TiVo box that can access cable channels above 99.)
One recent morning the topic of children's names came up. Someone—I think it was Pete—said he thought children should be able to name themselves, about the time they turn 18. He opined that he hadn't chosen his daughter Irene's name well, as it didn't fit in with his other daughters' names (Sophie and Eleanor).
He said what he really wanted to do was name them One, Two and Three. Well, actually, Primo, Secondo, and Tertiary. Then when they turned 18 they could choose. (I cackled when he made this statement!) His wife wisely nixed that idea!!
This whole conversation set my mind aroil, of course. I had always wished I had been named Jill or Kelly, with higher marks going to Jill. I also have always wished I had not given in to FOMC's desire to name our firstborn for himself - a "junior". I agreed to it only if we would call him by his middle name. Now the family knows him by his middle name, his work colleagues know him by his first name, and his friends know him by his self-assigned nickname. The poor guy is a split personality waiting to happen!
I've thought that if I ever became famous and needed a pseudonym, I would use my birthmother's name. "Gertrude Hodgkins". D'ya think anyone ever called this woman, whom I project to have lived her life with regrets and self-doubt, "Trudy"? Probably not.
Do you like, in retrospect, the names you chose for your children? If you could have chosen your own name, why would you have chosen?
1 comment:
My mother was named for her mother so it was "big Pat & little Pat" until Trish for my mom in her teens so she didn't want any "jr" - hence my name of Jill which I have always liked :) Pleased that we chose Veronica for our daughter and it seems to fit her quite beautifully - though she was Ronnie and Ron as a child and still to some. xoxo
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