Sunday Summary: Gratefully

If you’re American, then chances are you spent the weekend in some sort of pie/football/turkey feasting mode. Here’s hoping you did so surrounded by people you love.

Thanksgiving is an old-fashioned word for an enduring concept: gratitude.

And so, even though I feel it every day of the year, this seems like as good a moment as any to emphasize: I’m so grateful to each and everyone of you. For reading, for commenting, for interacting on social. For your kind and generous spirits. And, of course, for sharing so many momentous occasions with us, when you welcome a new person to your families.

ELSEWHERE ONLINE:

Everything about this story about rescue and hope is amazing. The name they ultimately gave their daughter is only part of it.

Clare has a great list of ways to update traditional boy names. Plenty of these – like Robson, Jones + Zef – are amazing if you don’t have an grandpa Robert, John, or Jeffrey to honor.

Swistle’s advice here is wise – as always. They’re wondering whether to change their daughter’s birth certificate to reflect her nickname. Swistle points out that they can table the decision for a future point, and see how things develop. One of my cardinal rules of naming is that, before you know it, your child becomes responsible for her own name. My guess is that the right course of action will become clear in a few more months – or years – and then they can act with confidence.

I didn’t see (or write!) any posts about wacky Pilgrim names this Thanksgiving. But let’s revisit an excellent – and accurate – list from Grammar Girl. I find the first name on her list – Remember – all sorts of captivating.

While we’re looking backward, this Cup of Jo post from June has amazing comments about what people really named their kids. Scroll through the thread when you have an hour (or two!) to spare …

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