The Naming Game

Alright…so, if having a child is not overwhelming enough, naming that child is even harder! And trust me, Gregory and I spent a LONG time deciding on what to name our girl. Well, not really…for those of you who know us well, you will probably think it came down to a coin toss….

You are almost correct….

I must say, I have some wonderful friends lending me support throughout this pregnancy and transition in my life. One of these friends kindly lent me some of her books, including one with thousands of name options. I spent a long time searching and digging through that book looking for names that would be acceptable in French and English.

Gregory jokingly suggested Latrine as our first option…..I told him to look at the book.

Well, all of my time researching names came to use when Gregory opened the book, read the first page and said “holy crap, no way…too much!” ..and then he got stuck on some mythological name which was not in the book, at which point in time I removed the book from his hands and shared what I liked name-wise

Erin: “How about Madeleine”

Gregory: “That is nice, it French…but hon, are you sure you want to name her that or is it just your craving for cookies?”

Erin: “Shut-up”

…..a few days pass…

I bring up the name subject again. At this point in time, I am more determined to find a name, with a post- it and pencil in hand, I tell Gregory to write.

He comes up with 4 names, which for him is a HUGE accomplishment. I love Gregory to death, but trust me, he has the creativity of somebody in the field of physics (not that organic chemists hate physics…)…well, he is a software programmer, so I guess that explains a lot. Anyhow, I liked one of the names…actually LOVED one of them and so our little girl was named:

EMMA

Yes, 4 letters, simple, beautiful and just what we wanted. And no, we don’t care if your dog is named Emma.

Emma was supposed to be our little secret. The one in which husband-wife cherish and keep everyone guessing!

Until Joelle called. You see, Joelle and Claude are a wee bit excited about this baby and had their own naming game going on in France. Over the phone, about a week after Gregory and I decided on Emma as a name, Joelle proceeds to inform Gregory that if it were her choice, she would name our girl “Emma”

….yes, a bit freaky….

So, what is one to do in this situation? Well, we pondered for a while and decided it best to inform immediate family of our name choice. Thankfully, everyone loved Emma as a name….and so began the “identity” of our girl and trying to keep it secret from everyone except family.

This lead to some interesting conversations. Gregory took great pride in telling everyone our girl would be named “latrine, croissant, bon-bon…” you name it; Gregory was throwing it all out there for s&*ts and giggles just to annoy people. I thought he had reached his “funny name limit” until our good friend Mark (and soon to be God Father of Emma) visited in March. I don’t know how the conversation started…all I know is how it ended….

Our little girl was going to be named “Rherpes” (with a silent R). I think Gregory and Mark almost peed themselves laughing over this one. You have to give them credit, it is unique and nobody else would be named that.

Then we went to France. I was already finding it hard not to spill the beans on our girl’s name. There comes a point where you talk to “Emma” (the little moster in my belly) everyday/night and you catch yourself “slipping” or forgetting that it is secret.

Well, that was taken care of when we arrived in France. I think we arrived just in time for the national French broadcast of “Emma”…yes, a mildy excited MIL and auntie-in-law had informed some friends, friends kids, friends kids dogs, cats, fish, hairdressers, grocery store clerks….you get the picture.. of “Emma.”

Gregory was tempted to tell Joelle and Claude we had changed the name to Rherpes, but then he decided against it as he didn’t want to get the crap beat out of him.

So, we then figured it really wasn’t worth it to keep the name a secret anymore and have slowly started informing people as the topic comes up. This lead to the issue that some people might feel left out, so what better way to reach the public than blogging; I know that I live such an interesting and influential life that everyone wants to know about….LOL

On a very sentimental and serious note; Emma’s middle name will be Lee, after my Nan (grandmother). Words cannot describe was a strong, kind, loving and genuinely amazing person my Nan is. Gregory and I only found it fitting to pass that on to our girl. If she possesses even a fraction of the strength and love my Nan does, she will grow into an amazing woman.

So, for the record, Emma Lee Menvielle (not to be confused with Emily, although we know it sounds like that…but believe me, we don’t care, just like we don’t care if your dog is named Emma) will be arriving in 10 weeks.

Holy Crap!! 10 weeks…..

Change the subject…next blog post is about my new garden on the balcony. The flowers/herbs have been there for 3 days and are not dead yet. This is progress folks.