What’s In A Name?

Parents have a lot to answer for.

Being the custodians of the next generation, we have the power to shape the future, and as any person familiar with the Superman mythos or watched any comic book movies recently knows, “With great power becomes great responsibility.”

Like our parents before us, we scaffold our children’s development with morals, offer them guidance, provide them with support through life’s undulations and supply everything they need (their ‘wants’ are a paragraph for another blog which are filled with tantrums, tears and tribulations).

Drawing from our life experiences, we aim to craft lessons that will help them steer clear of making the same mistakes we did. Saying that, there is no guarantee that what we impart won’t be forgotten, supplanted or barely used

Thankfully, we can be sure that the one thing that we do give our kids will last a lifetime: their name.

A name can be both powerful and inspiring, and is the reason we have not decided to call our son apple, peach or banana, because the last time we checked Marina did not give birth to fruit salad, but a baby. However if you ask Marina about the birth process, she will definitely comment that she felt like she was pushing out a watermelon.

Marina will also attest that the birth of Dominic’s baby brother was not as difficult as choosing his name.  Unlike the girl’s name which was set in stone within an hour of discussion, the selection of the boy’s name is one aspect that underscored this pregnancy more than the nausea and the tiredness. To say we agonised over our decision is an understatement.  Very rarely would night pass without the topic being discussed.

It got to the stage were we even involved Dominic. However his choices were certainly unorthodox – “Car”; “Chockie Milkoo”; “Peppa Pig”; “Iggle Piggle” (He enjoys ‘In the Night Garden…’).  But faced with our indecision, and with the end of the nine months fast approaching these were options that we were certainly considering, along with the possibility of driving into the local Fruit and Vegetable Market once baby was born and selecting a name from the fruit aisle – preferably something on special like “Kumquat Custard Apple”.

The conundrum we faced is not unusual, and it’s not uncommon for parents to labour (pun intended) over a child’s name. They naturally want their child’s designation to be unique and have a meaning they can emulate.

The reason Marina and me were so pedantic when it came to naming Dominic’s sibling was this was not our second pregnancy, but her third. Early last year, we miscarried what would have been our second child.

With this in our mind we wanted to name our third child something special; something meaningful. Enter Matthew, a name that always stood out amongst the plethora of choices that was bandied about between Marina and me.  Our choice was cemented once we discovered that this name meant exactly what our new son is to us – a “Gift from God.”

Dominic too is a gift from up high, and like every great present, he keeps on giving. Whether it’s his love, his inextinguishable zest for life or his innocent insights into the everyday, Dominic certainly helps us view each day with vigour.  For this, Marina and I could not be happier, because we know his gusto and cheery disposition is something that Marina and I will certainly need to keep our energy up , especially on those days when a good night’s sleep has gone wanting.

Initially, I am positive Matthew will not appreciate the incessantly high volume associated with Dominic’s gift of the gab, especially as he tries to sleep. Rest assured though, neither his indifference nor his ability to crawl or talk will dampen Dominic’s enthusiasm to corral his little brother under his tutelage and lead him up the garden path and into all sorts’ of mischief.

Given time though, Marina and I are sure, Matthew will grow up to be Luke to Dominic’s Obi-Wan and our house will be a death star waiting for destruction.  But Marina and I (aka The Emperor and Darth Vader) will not give up the Empire without a fight; so let these young Jedi try their best …

Contrary to his first name, the selection of Matthew’s middle name was not difficult. Named after Marina’s Dad, who in turn was named after St Joseph, a man who was descended from royal lineage, but yet still remained humble, hardworking and compassionate.  In addition to having such admirable traits, St Joseph is also the advocate of social justice, which is an ideology at the very core of every superhero.  These ideals of humility, compassion and the courage to fight injustice in our world are certainly beautiful ideal’s for our son(s) (not to mention us as adults) to live up to.

However, Matthew is still a baby, and before he heeds the principles of his namesake, Marina and I prefer him to begin with baby steps (pun definitely intended) and aim for the goal every parent wants for their newborn – the ability to sleep through the night.

Regardless when this achieved, three things are certain, as we cradle Matthew in our arms.  One, is that that the next couple of months will be a whirlwind of craziness and sleepless, but yet amidst the hectic days and nights, Marina and I know they will be endless love and laughter (not mention talk of cars, trucks, Xbox and other toys that Marina needs to buy for her boys – both big and small).

Following on from that, is St. Matthew’s comments on God’s Teaching – “Do not worry about tomorrow;  Tomorrow will take care of itself” – which in light of our first point, aids in reducing the anxiety and helps Marina and I live each day as it comes and revel in every moment spent with our boys.

This brings me to our third point, and that is, in the end, it would not have mattered what we named Matthew, because to paraphrase Shakespeare, by any other name, and like his older brother, he would still be as sweet and beautiful.

When I consider everything that grows

Holds in perfection but a little moment,

That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows

Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;

When I perceive that men as plants increase,

Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky,

Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,

And wear their brave state out of memory;

Then the conceit of this inconstant stay

Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,

Where wasteful Time debateth with decay

To change your day of youth to sullied night,

And all in war with Time for love of you,

As he takes from you, I engraft you new.

–          Shakespeare (Sonnet XV)

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Marina’s Postscript:

Matthew arrived two weeks earlier than we expected and a lot quicker than we anticipated.

The obvious reason is that he wants to get in an amongst Dominic’s toys. But there are other reasons also.  Marina’s labour was only 1hour and 50 minutes and quicker than you can say “more powerful than a locomotive” (which is apt description of Marina’s contractions), Matthew came on the scene “faster than a speeding bullet” because as you may or may not know the latest Superman Trailer was released on the 17^th, and naturally Matthew wanted to see it.  (And you can too, as I have included below.)

Marina though, a self-proclaimed ‘Marvel Girl’ begs to differ.  Her reason for the early entry was because Iron Man 3 is out next week and Matthew could not wait for the DVD release.

So which one is it?

Well, I’ll let you be the judge as I have included the Iron Man trailer also.

Not that it matters because the Man of Steel will trump a Man of Armour any day of the week…