Names

Am I nuts? Please tell me I'm not the only person who has picked new names for their family members in the (unlikely? what?) event that you ever have to enter the Witness Protection Program. It's like a do-over with the whole naming thing, except you'd have a new last name too, so you could choose from names that were impossible the first time because they sounded bad with your original last name. You also have the advantage of age; I can see now that the name I'd previously selected to be Asher's Program name would actually fit Tyson much better.

AND you and your husband would get to choose your own names. As much as I still like it, I don't think I would give myself the fake name I used to give guys (along with a fake phone number) back in my single days. I wonder if the Department of Justice would let you choose names with some family significance if they weren't too obvious...

I'd tell you the names I have in mind, but then we wouldn't be able to use them if this (improbable? far-fetched? huh?) scenario ever actually happened. I'll tell you one thing, though. It's a good thing we won't be able to stay in touch with my mom if we do enter the Program, because I'm confident she'll hate all three of the names I've chosen for my kids. If she knew what I have in mind right now, she would be so glad there are so many names that sound crazy with "Waye" or we might have really used one or two of them. And no, Scot doesn't get any say in the alternative name selection. I should be rewarded for being so prepared, right? Okay, maybe I'll give him veto power for his own name.

So, witness protection aside, would you name your kids something else if you could go back? I still love all my kids' first names, and think they fit each of them perfectly. But I wish we had chosen a middle name for Riley that was a family name, instead of just a name that sounds pretty with her first name. I had thought of combining our mother's names (Eilene and Denise) for Elise, but I recently thought of one I like even better. Sorry, my lips are sealed. It's now her Witness Protection middle name.

Have you ever wished you could change your own name? There was a time in the 80's when I wished my name were Gem, but mostly I've just wished my legal, given name were simply Becca. I wonder if Scot has ever wished his parents had given him two T's...especially now that even his mother has started spelling it wrong on occasion.

Aren't you wishing I wrote random blog posts during bouts of insomnia more often?