What's In a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet

There is no experience like waiting patiently for nine long months to meet that sweet little baby you have been preparing for. You wash the baby clothes and lovingly fold them into the drawers, the car seat is properly adjusted in the car, and the new swing awaits with fresh batteries. Then of course there is the process of picking a name. Stacks of baby name books with many pages dog-eared, lists and scratched out lists tucked between the pages, and then eventually a name comes, it all comes together and eventually (even if it is your second day in the hospital) you just know.

I have loved and sometimes hated the process of picking out names for our children, and I have always felt that their name is already chosen, I just have to figure it out. Anyone else feel that way? I thought I had every name picked out when I was sixteen (because remember I am a planner), and so far I have actually only used one of those names. A name I never once considered until I was about four months pregnant was Lily. Yet there it was, and for the rest of my pregnancy I just couldn't discount it. So on our second night in the hospital we finally committed to Liliana Kathleen. It felt just right for our little girl and now I can't imagine her with any other name!

While we were waiting to get the test back for Lily, I was mindlessly searching names and what they mean. I found out that Lily means "pure", then I decided to search Kathleen and found out it also means "pure".

This seemed fitting and a little bittersweet. We were still waiting to find out if Lily had cdcand somehow knowing that her name meant "pure" solidified to me that she did in fact have this condition. That she was in fact pure and will always be this way.

And I still believe she chose her name, that she chose to be this pure little soul, that she chose to be in this body, and that at some point I chose to be her mom.