a rose, by any other name

"how about campbell?"

"campbell? like campbell soup? 'hi there soupy sales. you smell like soup. we hate you!' no way."

i've always had a knack for naming things. barbies, pets, cars- you name it, i could name it. like a motherfucker. a motherfucker, i tells ya.

i was such a good namer that, as a kid, the other girls used to step to me and try to steal my names for their own. they'd show up at school with a stuffed cat named 'daisy' and try to play it off like they didn't know that i knew that they took the name from my malibu stacie doll.

in junior high, i made up names for my imaginary twins, a boy and a girl. (my dad was a twin as were his pairs of older and younger brothers, so i just assumed twins were in the offing for me.)

"what about scarlet?"

"scarlet? like scarlet o'hara? 'frankly scarlet, i don't give a damn?' never."

but now, here i was, with the funnest naming expedition ever. finding the perfect monniker for my own child, and it was becoming a cold winters slog through the gulag.

i came up with lists and lists and he hated everything. it looked like i'd have a 'baby girl x' suckling sometime in the near future. which is sorta, kinda cute, in that 'i heart minister farrakhan' way.

on march 7th, she showed up. three weeks early. baby girl x. a little wisp of a fairy girl. all heart shaped face and teacup blue eyes.the hospital folks kept pestering us to name her, but our collective wells were dry.

then, i had a neat memory. i used to see this cute asian skate boarder when our high school football team would play his. he was smart and sparkly and he gave me a wonderful nickname. everytime i heard his voice say the name, it sounded like the prettiest one in the world.

it made me feel like a different girl. someone self assured and happy, a girl who danced through life with a giggle and a swagger. a girl with a light breeze in her hair and the sun at her back. i felt like that girl would have a really cool life.

i looked at baby girl x and wondered if she might like this name. if it might bring her luck. i whispered it in her ear. it sounded nice. real nice.

the bard himself asked 'what's in a name?' and you might too. but, i'll tell you what- she is the smartest, happiest, deepest, prettiest little girl i ever did meet.

coincidence?

you decide.