The 1st Day Of Spring, Laura Bird Began To Sing

"The 1st day of Spring, Laura Bird began to sing." My Grandpa Peabody always used to tell us that. His mother, my great-grandmother was Laura Bird and she was born on March 21st. I had an Aunt Pat that was born on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. Then there is my nephews wife, April, guess when her birthday is. Yep, right smack in the month of April. I guess it only makes sense to name someone Noelle who has a December birthday. 8)

Apparently, one thing Ron and I did get right as parents was naming our daughter Natalie. She told me recently that she didn't know what she was going to name her daughter because we had already used the best girl's name, Natalie. That was an incredible compliment from my daughter that usually doesn't think we 'got it right' on most things. But then we may not have done so well with Cameron's name. It turns out Cameron means crooked nose. As you might have guessed, Cameron has broken his nose, so even though he was not born with a crooked nose, he did acquire one.

It is interesting how parents pick names. Really it is such an important decision since your sweet little baby will live with your choice throughout its live. Some parents must not stop to consider how the 1st and last name will sound together and kids can end up with rather embarrassing names for life. There is the girl named Candice Barr and the guy named Richard Dong. Unfortunately, their parents didn't consider the nicknames most Candices and Richards go by; Candy and Dick. So along with choosing the perfect name parents need to imagine any nicknames that might come up.

So much thought is given to the middle name and it rarely gets used at all. I have a friend whose parents didn't give her a middle name, presumably to make it easier to write her name. Well, that backfired, whenever she filled out papers instead of leaving the middle name blank she was forced to write None. So her name became Susi None. I don't think that None was what her parents meant to name her.

Then there is the whole issue of naming your baby after a relative. That is a bombshell waiting to explode. Aunt Bluebell can't thought you were her favorite but you chose Aunt Rebecca's name. But you hesitate to explain that you really don't want to name your child after a COW. What if the unimaginable happens and Uncle Tony decides to go on a crime spree? Now every time someone googles your son, they see Uncle Tony's dirty little secret. It gets complicated!

Some parents decide to choose a Biblical name. This is usually a wonderful idea. Just don''t get carried away trying to find the most unusual name in the Bible. Having a Sarah or a Matthew is one thing, but Zeresh or Abihud may be worth reconsidering.

Then there is my name, not that I am complaining about my parents choice but......Barb? Really? Now let's just think about what a Barb is. A barb can be used on fencing like barbed wire, to gouge the flesh of animals so they will not escape captivity, Barb can also be a part of a fishhook to tear into the flesh of a fish and anchor it so it can be dragged out of its wonderful water home and into the fisherman's frying pan. Not complaining here, just saying there may have been a better choice out there, like Natalie maybe.

To complicate life further, I find the love of my life in high school and soon realize that with Barbara as my 1st name and Barber as his last name, life could get confusing. In the halls, everyone called him by his last name so when someone would holler for us we both would turn around. Sweet! Then I married my handsome prince and have had this tongue twister ever since. Not complaining, just saying!

This naming a baby becomes important business when you weigh the impact your choice will have on your child's life. People say the labor is scary!

In Him,
Joyful
3-20-2010