Oh.
Hmmmm.....
Silence.
Huh.
That's different.
I love it.
But that's a boy's name.
Really?
Well, you can always shorten it.
And that folks, is the varying response we have had to our little girl's name.
Long before the sleepless wonder came into our lives, his name was known to us. There was never any discussion, or arguing, or debating. It was easy and we were met with overwhelming support of our choice. Within months of his birth, we met a little girl at a friend's party. Without question, I knew we would both love the name. On the car ride home that night it was settled: if we ever have a girl, that is her name. And so it goes. It's not crazy, or that unusual, or even offensive. I love the name. My husband loves the name. That's all the matters, right? So why do all these blase comments have me so pissed off?
I tell my (adult) students who skip school to lie to me-I don't care if they were drinking until 4am, that they may or may not have bowel problems, that they think my class is boring, that they think English sucks etc...etc...LIE. TO. ME. Say you were sick. Tell me you had health issues. Whatever. I don't care, but I sure as hell don't want to hear the truth. Either does your boss. Either do your coworkers who have run out of sick days. LIE. TO. US. It shouldn't come as such a stretch, really. We all lie in some form or another if not on a daily basis, then on a weekly basis. We lie about new haircuts, weight loss, outfits, and c'mon ladies, I KNOW you have lied at least once in the last 3 months or so ...the list is endless. And we do this, not out of malice, but out of kindness. It really sucks to hear that the new haircut you love is really despised by a friend, or family member. So what do we do? We bite our tongue, smile and say, "Wow, you love it, so I love it." End of story, right?
So why is it that no one can lie to us about the choice of name for our little girl? And for the record, I am not offering the name; I am being asked. You asked, now lie if you don't like it. Really. Tell us,"that's wonderful", "congratulations," "lovely choice." As an expectant mom who loves the name she has chosen, I'd rather hear the lie.
