What's in a Name?

I'm sometimes amazed at the things we never learn because we never ask. And, I'm as guilty of this as anyone else.  For example, I've had my name for 53 years and never thought to ask my mom how or why I was named Jeri Lynn, which is certainly not a traditional girl's name.

But last night we had a Relief Society event at which we were to relate the story of our names.  So, I called my mom and asked her.  The condensed version of the conversation follows:

Mom picked her favorite name for her first daughter when she was just a little girl and looked forward to the time when she could actually call her daughter by her chosen name.  But the year before I was born, mom's best friend, Jolene, had a daughter and used mom's pet name for her.  Mom was pretty upset about this and tried to talk Jolene out of using the name, but with no success.

So, mom and dad had to come up with another name. Mom decided on Lynn, as it was the last syllable in her own name, Carolyn.  She had a friend named Jeri, and mom loved that name and mom's brother's name is Gerald, of which Jeri is a derivative.  So, I was named for Uncle Gerald and mom, which I never knew before.

As to the stolen pet name?  Mom and dad realized once I was born that I was a Jeri Lynn and not a . . .

CINDY LOU!   

I will be forever grateful to Jolene for naming her daughter Cindy Lou, and sparing me.

Disclaimer: Sorry if I offended all you Cindy Lou's. If you know me, you understand.

Lessons Learned from a Quilt

I am a lousy blogger!  But I'm going to turn over a new leaf and take a lesson from my friend Laura, who faithfully blogs once a month.  I can handle once a month! 

In her February blog, Laura posted pictures of quilt blocks I pieced.  She called them Love on the Square.  They were my first Stack and Whack project, and they hooked me on that method.  Those blocks are now a completed quilt, which was given to my darling daughter-in-law Talara, for her birthday.

The quilt was the third one I quilted on the quilting machine that took up residence at my house a few months ago.  It was also very challenging and frustrating and sent me to the chiropractor twice!  Well, the quilt didn't do those things, my being overly ambitious about the quilting of the quilt did those things.  I was so grateful when the thing was completed, and certain it was a disaster that I would be embarrassed to give away.

The amazing thing  about these photos is that they were taken about 12 feet above the quilt. I'm not the photographer Laura is, but my zoom is great and I'm astonished at how the quilting detail stands out.

But, here's the lesson.  I pulled the quilt off the machine, laid it out, and was amazed!  It was lovely!  All the little missed design points, funny looking hearts, and weird spirals melted into a beautiful whole.  A metaphor for life.

Update on Last Custody Trial

Never, never take anything or anyone for granted.  I mentioned in my last post that I had completed my last custody trial for a client I had represented for 7-8 years.  After the trial was over and everyone had left the courtroom, I reached out my hand to shake my client's hand.  Instead of shaking my hand, we hugged and I held him as he started to sob in relief.  "I was so afraid I had lost her," he said in reference to his daughter. 
"She's yours forever now."   We both knew that there would be now more attempts by his ex-wife to take his daughter away and he could raise her now without threat of the court intervening again.

That's what we thought and that's what we planned. But one never knows. 

We never thought that just three weeks later, on his way home to his daughter from a wonderful new job for which they'd moved to Oregon, that my client, Bruce, would be killed in a head-on car accident.  We never anticipated that his daughter, for whom he fought so hard, would be returned to her mother after all and that his young sons would be left to clean up the estate. Or, that I would be helping them make sense of insensible things. 

I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to send Bruce an email or call him to discuss what he wanted done. And, how many times since hearing about this death I've thought how pointless our fight was and what a waste of valuable time it was. Time he could have spent with his daughter and other family members. 

So, hug your own loved ones and appreciate each moment you have with them. And, please, please, don't make the mistake of spending years of your life fighting over your loved ones. In the end, you may not have time to make it up to them.