Last week I was at a meeting for the local women’s business organization. I was seated next to a women who had a four-year-old son, so we started talking about our kids. I told her my children’s names and ages. BE has sort of an unusual first name, so my new acquaintance commented about it. She said something about the name being unique and asked me for the spelling. She looked at me like she expected me to explain it. I don’t know anything about the origins of BE’s name, so I said something like, “Yes, she has a great name and I like it a lot.”
I hope that over time, I’ll develop some more witty and/or gracious responses. And, I want to get past that urge to share our history with everyone. I never actually do share, but it’s still the way we define our relationship. I hope that eventually we’ll have many more equally defining experiences to rely on.
Shannon Mackie 