What's In A Name...

When we found out I was expecting and were discussing our options one afternoon in Whitefish...Will made the bold statement of, "I think it's a boy".  Now, we all know I'm not much for religion or signs from God or all of that hoopla, but there have been a few times since I've known Will that he has made some pretty shocking and profound statements...which came true.  He always tells me that we create our own reality...and he had me pretty hoodwinked that our little pea pod was of the Y chromosome variety. 

So, for the next four months we spent much of our time fighting about boy names, picking out little boy outfits at garage sales and coming to terms with having another little Will running around the house (oh dear:)).  But then...wouldn't you know it, we got a surprise.  Normally it takes 20 minutes to do an ultrasound, but our little gal was spinning and twirling and scooting away from the probe as fast as she could (she got those fast-twitch fibers from her dad) so our poor tech never got a clear shot.  After an hour, he finally paused the screen with glee, spurting, "you've got yourselves a little girl!".  I'm not quite sure what normally happens in ultrasounds, if parents get all weepy and emotional.  Will and I had a slightly different reaction.  "Really?"  Our little munchkin was already tossing us curveballs. 

We drove home that day in silence, both coming to terms with the fact that we were having a little LADY, and all of the planning we had been doing for a boy was now moot.  And actually...it was the best thing that could have happened to us.  We could not agree on a boys name to save our lives.  I had my heart set on Axsel Henry (after a kick ass Norwegian skier and my grandfather), and Will was in love with Hunter or River.  Neither of us were budging.  Stubborn pair :)

However since we were certain it was a boy neither one of us had put much thought into little girl names.  So, the afternoon of the ultrasound I was poking around Scandinavian name websites and when I got to the K's I immediately stopped.  Kaia.  I just knew that was her name.  Old Norse for "earth".  I showed the website to Will and he agreed, we had a little Kaia on our hands :)

Now, the middle name is more of my story.  As many of you know I've gone through a rough year or two...and during one particularly nasty spell I resorted to reading memoir's of Johnny Cash.  I was ready for a little escape from my reality and thought, "heck, you can't get much further than my world than a drug addicted country singer".  Little did I know I would identify with Johnny's wife, June.  Sassy, spunky, loved her family deeply, two failed marriages under her belt, and with a heart that outweighed her body by ten.  There were a lot of memorable quotes from June in that book, but the one that has stuck with me since was this.  During an interview she was asked what her life goals are, what she feels she can accomplish.  The interviewer anticipated hearing something grand about world peace or the end of poverty but in her typical spunky Southern drawl she said, "darlin', I just wanna matter". 

She went on to explain that she'd lived much of her life for her career, and upon starting this life with Johnny she wanted to put her family first.  Her children, her husband, her family.  She wanted to matter to them first, and everyone else second.  It was one of those "ah ha" moments in life for me.  I couldn't have said it any better myself.  Darlin', I just wanna matter. 

So Miss Kaia June Edwards Hammerquist, you are named after not only the earth that is our nuturing mother and provides us with the greatest wonders in the universe...but also after a saucy country singer who gave your momma some direction when she needed it most.  Oh, and June is also my favorite month of the year here in Montana...but that story isn't nearly as sexy :)