September 22, 2010

Renaming My Kids and Not In the Way You Might Think

The following things are true:
  • I've always thought that if I ever had kids the regular old birth way, I'd wait to get to know them a bit before choosing names for them. It's always seemed odd to me that we parents name our children before ever meeting them face to face. Naming that way wasn't an option the way Puppy and Firefly came to us, and in the end the process of naming each of them was meaningful in other ways.  But it wasn't long with either of the kids before I looked at them and thought, "Oh, they're really more of a [this whole other name we had never considered]." It's not something that keeps me up at night, tossing with regret, but it is something I think about on occasion.

  • When I started writing here, Puppy was a two-month old nugget of baby awesome, totally dependent on us for everything. Giving him a cute online nickname seemed fitting. Now he's growing into a more independent little guy every day, expressing all sorts of complex thoughts and stories. For awhile now whenever I've sat down to write about him I want to call him something more real, more person-ish. The same is just beginning to happen with Firefly.

  • Nicknaming an adopted kid "Puppy" in a world in which pet adoption programs exist was dumb. It just was, even if it was only on a blog and even if it was a play on words based on his actual name. That's one of the scary thing about blogging, at least for me. If you're writing honestly and openly, all of your mistakes and missteps are preserved for the world to view. But it doesn't mean I can't try to make it right after the fact.

  • It occurred to me the other day that, unlike in the real world, I can change the kids' blog names whenever I please. And finally have a chance to bestow on them the names I think so fit their little selves.
So, without further ado, meet Eddie (short for Edward)...


...and Marian, often called Mari (sounds like "merry").

12 comments:

luna said...

love this. eddie I totally get. but mari will take some getting used to.

Geochick said...

Aww...goodbye to the cutesy names. Hello grownup names!

Sang-Shil said...

I love this post, and thank you for changing Puppy's name. I love your blog, but that has always bothered me.

I wish the people at Grown in My Heart would realize that they, too, can change their blog name.

sara said...

How grown up they sound with person-ish names!

Megan said...

Eddie and Mari it is. They both fit them very well imho, so well done.

I do love that blogging allows this sort of flexibility. I love that I can redesign my blog and change it to fit my current state of being.

mayhem said...

I think it's interesting that you might choose different names for your kids now. I've felt that way about my children's real names at times. My oldest's middle name should have been his first name, and my second should have been give a different version of his first name (like John vs Jonathan, as an example). Like you, not tossing and turning about it but I think about it every once in a while. I'm not really blogging any more but their blog names (Sparkle and Pumpkin) still really fit them. Eddie and Mari are super cute names in real life or as blog names!

Tammy said...

I'm in the process of figuring this out too, of changing kiddos' names on the blogs. Love Eddie and Mari... sweet.

Anonymous said...

I love the new names for the bigger kids - Eddie and Mari are very cute!

Anonymous said...

I'm a very new mommy blogger (domestic) and I started using my daughter's real name. I only have 12 posts and I think I will go back and give her a blog name. Does anyone use real names of kids? My husband does NOT want me to use photos but I see a lot of mom blogs using them. What's the thought process of pix but no real names? I could use all the advice I can get. Love your blog, by the way

Unknown said...

I'm a very new mommy blogger (domestic) and I started using my daughter's real name. I only have 12 posts and I think I will go back and give her a blog name. Does anyone use real names of kids? My husband does NOT want me to use photos but I see a lot of mom blogs using them. What's the thought process of pix but no real names? I could use all the advice I can get. Love your blog, by the way

Mama C/Catherine said...

Well this will teach me to lose touch with the world for a few months while planning an adoption conference... Eddie Mari? I was all confused, and just sifted through months of posts to understand the name change! Agree that these new names help me to land into your words and stay there!

harriet glynn said...

The freedom of the Internet! So funny about Puppy (groan). I do adore firefly though ;)

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