Last night, as darkness fell, we stood on our roof deck – we live in a tall, skinny townhouse – and watched for glimpses of fireworks in the night sky.
I wasn’t sure if we’d see anything. Nearly every official celebration had been canceled.
But it happened. For over an hour, we watched through the trees, over the other houses and apartment buildings, catching glimpses, and, every now and then, a huge, clearly visible burst.
It ended up being strangely hopeful, those flashes of color and light.
Maybe it’s like seeing birth announcements right now. Even when it’s a family I’ll never meet sharing their good news, it feels like a story about the future. A reason to cheer. And when it’s a local family, someone in our community? I find myself far more emotional than I’d expect.
I write about names, but those names? They belong to people who carry so much potential good. With apologies to Katy Perry, every birth is a little firework, a bright and sparkling mark of possibility, a chance to re-invent our world – again.
Which reminds me … have you watched Hamilton yet? We’re tuning in tonight. I’m incredibly excited … and wondering if we’ll see a bump in Hamilton-related baby names next year? My eye is on the already-rising Eliza.
Susannah nicknamed Sosie is gorgeous. Also, I think Swistle gives excellent advice here regarding middle/honor names. As she says: Important Honor Name VASTLY outranks “the sound of the names said together, which they pretty much never will be.” Meaning triumphs over style at such moments.
Parents share the names they loved, but never got to use. The most common reason cited appears to be never having a girl for their favorite girl name – or vice versa – but there are some really interesting stories, too.
Even if you don’t respond to Nancy’s Five Name Friday challenge, read the comments. Such an interesting question!
The future of naming is secure. How great is this profile of Emma? You can find her site here.
Congrats to Lisa! She’s won a copy of Alix Brown’s new book, Trending and Timeless Baby Names + The Name Mentor’s Guide to Peacefully Crafting Your Baby’s Name. Crushed you didn’t win? The book is available for order on Amazon here. (Lisa, please check your email!)
That’s all for this week. Stay safe + sane, and I’ll see you soon!
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Hamilton was amazing. Some names I predict to rise related to the musical are George, Alexander, Hamilton, Eliza, Angelica, Philip, Theodosia, and Miranda.
I agree babies = new life and new hope.
Fireworks are great when sanctioned. Not so much when launched during a drought over a deeply wooded area home to threatened species. Or in neighborhoods with dogs and veterans. But I love official fireworks, say, from a barge in a bay.