What's In A Name

How does a nickname find you? Does it lurk behind the shadows waiting to watch your personality unfold itself? Is it given to you at birth? Do you earn it? Does the name bring respect or give you an embarrassing (almost awkward) feeling? Can you name yourself? Does it become you? Is it you?

A true nickname is given out of love. A deep down swell of love. A love that cannot be measured or calculated or even for that matter explained. It comes from history, baggage, a knowing. It comes from a place that cannot ever be uttered. The caller feels it. The receiver understands it. Neither, however, reflect upon it. It is true. Both bow to it. There is an identity. And if born out of love, it is a true identity. Reverence from the name caller. Submission on the part of the receiver. Never spoken aloud. A friendship. A bond. An enchanted space that others may never find.

What's in a name?


UPDATED: March 2014

A Room of Their Own

My kids harass each other every day by calling each other specific nicknames that the other despises. I get annoyed and sometimes come to one of their defenses......
After being outside for the better half of the day Hayden was in the street kicking a soccer ball and Clara was busying with a few neighborhood friends painting and chalking up the sidewalk.
Hayden called out to Clara a couple of times trying to get her attention. He desperately wanted to show her a soccer trick. She was not giving him the time of day.
He then called out, "Clare!" She immediately stopped what she was doing and came running to his side.
In this instant I understood sibling rivalry in all its greatness. A deep , sometimes abysmal, bond that carries ultimate truths mixed with a ton of baggage. A room where no one else is welcomed -- not even parents.
The next time I hear them harassing each other, calling each other by these silly nicknames I will smile, ignore their insults and walk out of their room.