Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Naming Wars

We've experienced great difficulty in naming Hadley. The first two girls were a snap. Mia came to us somewhat mystically and the name Brianna wasn't even up for discussion. Elise dreamed that one up on the monkey bars.

But with our third daughter, we've really struggled. I, for example, insist on naming our children based upon deep meaning and story. A child's name must mean something, it must tell a foundational story about their life, their character, and their soul. It is, indeed, the...um... more biblical approach. Therefore, I lobbied hard for "Tama - which in the Hebrew means both "surprised" and "complete." Given that we discovered we were pregnant just 9 days after I returned from China with Mia, I found the name to fit the criteria.

But no. You see, Tama wasn't pretty enough for my wife (no offense...). Elise, you must know, chooses names based on how they sound. To her, meaning and story are superfluous. So where did we find the name "Hadley?" From the Internet. And what does it mean? It means "Field of Heather." And what does "Field of Heather" mean?

Exactly.

Sorry Hadster. Your Mom got her way. Fortunately, your life will fill in the meaning and bring the soul.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

we just got in the car and...

Last February, we were heading down the highway in our minivan. We had just left the hospital from yet another appointment for Mia. Elise was in her first tri-mester with Hadley, looking pukegreen and staring lifelessly out the windshield. The girls were locked and loaded into the backseat and both were quite vocal about the fact that the transaction happened without one single cheerio.

It also happened to be Elise's birthday.

I turned to her in the passenger seat as I drove and began to gently rub her neck . "Happy Birthday, my love." I said weakly.

"Urgh," she groaned.

"What did we do for your birthday last year, again?" I asked.

She paused for a long time and then replied, "You took me to P.F. Chang's..." Her voice trailed off.

She then added with a staccato flair, "We. Just. Got. In. The. Car. And. Went."

yep. yep. yep.

So my parents are in town for 6 weeks to help with the deluge of deebledaughters. My Dad took one look at the 3 car seats and said to my Mom in surprise, "3 Car Seats? Why do they need 3 car seats?"

"Because they're having a 3rd baby." she replied.

"Oh," he said.

The following night, he turned to her and whispered, "Who's going to watch the girls when they go to the hospital?"

"We are, Mike." Mom replied.

"Where's Danny going to be?" he asked.

My mom told him that I would be at the hospital with my wife and Hadley - which is what most Dads now do in the 21st century. Then he asked, "You mean, he's not even going to come home at night?"
Mom said, "No, Mike...it's just you and me."

He was quiet for a second and then said, "Man, we're going to need a lot of help!"