The Story Of Your Name

Once, years ago, my daughter came home from her first day of school and said in one class they'd had to share about themselves: their favorite color, book, movie, how they got their name....That's a weird question. How they got their name. But I smiled waiting for my daughter to tell the story, and she said she just shrugged.  She had no idea where her name came from.

What the heck?!!! She really doesn't know?

Well, let me tell you both, my wonderful, much loved children, the story of your name......

My son, my first born, your story isn't as exciting as it is about how I knew my first son would be named after my father. It had been a wish I'd had since I was little, a boy to name Allen David. Then I met your dad, and his family tradition is to give every boy the middle name Allen. He would not budge on that. And before we were even married, when we were first engaged, it is a point I gave up. And I am so glad I did. You were David Allen before you were born, years before, and the moment I saw you, I knew your dad had been right. You are David, and you are perfect.

My daughter, your story involves an ultrasound and breakfast at the Bluebird. My pregnancy with you was harder, with more bed rest and contractions and a general feeling of this isn't going to be quite as easy as the first time. So at our second ultrasound, while Grandma watched your brother and your dad sat with me holding my hand, the tech asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. With your brother, we waited to be surprised, but with you we said yes. Please tell us! The chance of you being a girl was 80%. I'll take those odds! We retrieved your brother and the three of us went to the Bluebird for breakfast. As we sat there, your Dad and I couldn't stop smiling. A girl! We really only had a boy name picked out. I remember thinking of girl names, discarding the one we'd picked out if David had been a girl, and I finally said I like the name Leah. Your Dad instantly agreed. I said it over and over in my mind and I knew, if you were a girl, you would be Leah. And after some consideration, we gave you a middle name that has family ties, we named you Leah Catherine after Grandma Mary Catherine.

Even now, going on 18 and 16 years since I felt your fluttery kicks beneath my hands, when I wondered who you were going to be and how this whole separate person growing inside me would work, I love your names.  To me you will always be David and Leah, and if you adopt nicknames as you grow, or shorten your names to Dave and Lee, you will always be David and Leah to your mother!