Names. When I finally began the blog that I thought about writing for over a year I changed the name. Last year I asked my son Caleb to help me choose a name. I told him I was thinking of angels, cupcakes, books, teaching, parenting...what name could encompass all those topics? He suggested "The Cottage". I thought it was a great idea. My grandparents had a cottage in Port Clinton, Ohio on Sandusky Bay. I have many wonderful memories of the summers I spent there with my extended family. I thought I would further honor my grandmother by calling the blog "Dorothy's Cottage" after her. To me it was a name that evoked unconditional love and the joy and freedom of childhood.
So why did I decide to use a different name? My daughter Marissa is expecting our first grandchild. I am going to be a grandma myself! I tried "Grandma's Cottage" but unsurprisingly that was already in use. So I thought "Nettie's Cottage". Caleb approved.
I have been fascinated with names and their meanings since I was a child. I owned several baby name books way before I was even thinking about having children. I have the meanings and origins of many names memorized and I love going online to check out what's currently popular. Yesterday I went to the library with my husband, Jim. I looked at the book Your Name Is Your Blessing by Benjamin Blech. It uses the gematria, the total numerical value of a word, favored by the Jewish mystical branch called the Kabbalah. The book only contains traditional Jewish names, so just for fun I found an online version of gematria and entered my name. This online version gives you other names, words,and phrases that have the same numerical value as your name. It came up with some strange comparisons so naturally I entered several family members' names but mine were stranger than must of the other names.
Although I left Your Name Is Your Blessing at the library, I did check out several other books including Conversations With A Guardian Angel by Robert J. Wicks. It is a fictional story about a psychiatrist's conversations with his guardian angel after his sister is killed by a drunk driver. One of their talks centers around having a name for your life's calling. According to his angel, we have different callings throughout our lives and we should name them to develop spiritually.
This reminded me of another book I read many years ago, The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho. The prophet Elijah, who is the main character, encourages people to choose a name for their souls. I was captivated by this idea and came up with a name for my own soul. At that time I wanted more than anything to be open and unafraid, especially with ideas but also with people. I thought "Invitation" to help me remember to accept any invitations that life sends me and also to extend invitations/be welcoming to others. Now as I am reading this new book I begin to think maybe it is time for a new name. I thought of something today that I am kicking around. I will keep it to myself for now. What are your thoughts about names? I would love to hear from you!
