What's in a Name?

Thinking of a good name can be a huge decision!  

The most recent bout we had with naming, was our new dog.  We practiced lots of names, including yelling them out the back door to see how they sounded.  We narrowed it down to two names, one we had picked out for Rory should he be a girl (which shall remain secret) and Jessie.  In the end, we let Rory decide between the two.  Jessie it is!

Rory didn't have a middle name until the last day we left the hospital.  In fact, we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl and we didn't tell anyone our name ideas.  We had liked "Rory" for quite some time.  Since we kept the name a secret we didn't say it out loud much.  Now, we realize it's hard for most people to say "R's" so he usually ends up being called Roy or  Wory.  

I grew up correcting people on my name.  Jenna.  It seems so simple.  It's pronounced like "Jennifer" but without the "fer" at the end.  Jenna.  Not Gina. Not Jennifer. Not Jenny. Not Jen or a host of other pronunciations I've heard.  It's not short or an abbreviation for any other name.  Just Jenna. 

Josh is Josh--can't much mess that one up!

Then there is the naming of a blog...what sounds catchy, fun, interesting and would stand the test of time?  It was harder to come up with than I thought.  I knew I wanted to write about our family adventures and things that I loved and things that mean a lot and are important to me.  

That's when I remembered THE song.  It's a song that was sung to me as a little girl from someone who loved me very much. It's a song that I've sung to Josh.  I would rock Rory when he was little and sing to him.  I still sing it to him when he is upset or before bedtime when he is really sleepy.   If he gets too ancy and I sing to him he (generally) will calm right down.

My Grandma, Janet, passed away just shy of my 15 birthday.  Today, she has been gone for 15 years.  I can't believe I've almost spent more of my life without her and than with.   Not too long after she died, hearing stories from family members I realized that I couldn't remember some of the things that they did...especially if if it was really little.  I think I was at a pivotal age where memories of being a child are fuzzy and not complete.  At one point it was hard for me to remember what her voice sounded like.

My Aunt Beth helped my Grandpa go through some of her things and keep up the house.  She found a few cassette tapes and let them play while she cleaned just to make sure the tapes were empty.  Then, on the last 6 minutes of a cassette tape--pure gold.  My cousin, Travis, my Grandma and I recorded ourselves singing silly songs.  In the summer I would stay with my grandparents for a week--I so loved that week.  We would have all sorts of adventures, the 3 of us.  We would play putt-putt, Grandpa would take me on Jeep rides in his woods, Grandma would teach me how to cook.  We must have made the tape one of those weeks.  I can't even remember making it but based on my voice I would guess I'm somewhere between 5-7.   I cried when I first heard the tape and it took me about 7 years to be able to listen to it without crying.  Now I can smile and tonight, when Rory heard it, he said, "That's your Grandma?"  Shame the two of them never met.  They sure would have liked each other.

Listening to her sing now reminds me of happy times.  I remember her dancing in the basement when we would play her old 8 track tapes or record player.  She could make a mean pie crust.  I'm pretty sure she let me win at putt-putt every time.  She would giggle when we went for a bouncy ride in the fields with the Jeep. She would lay down with me until I feel asleep if I got homesick.

So, what's in a name?  A lot.  Family. History. Patience. And most importantly Love.

Here are two snippets from the cassette...it's pretty sweet.  If your family, you may want to grab a tissue.  Even though it's a video there isn't anything to see, just audio.

And this one just for fun because I loved staying with my Grandparents!