Daughter, Be Good to Yourself

My Daughter, Ally, Alex, Alexandria Paige. Unlike my first child, my son, we chose not to find out the gender of our second. For those long nine months, I didn't have any "baby names" books to ponder, any predestined name for my child.

Those months that I felt my child inside of me, I thought about my life. All of my strengths and my weaknesses. Twenty one years worth of experiences, trials and tribulations. All of the joy I felt as a child, what my father and my mother taught me, the time I had with my own siblings, and all of those things contributed to my daughters' name.

If it were a girl, I wanted these things for her:

Strength with sophistication, mischievous with grace, glamorous with modesty, capable with faith, educated with joy, hilarious with hope, and most of all, the ability to enjoy this life and get through anything that may come her way, for all of the days of her life.

I attribute my daughters name to the hit series "Knots Landing" and the movie "Flashdance".

In Knots Landing, there was a woman named Paige Matheson, played by the beautiful Nicolette Sheridan, who was just the most "straight to the point" and "gracefully adamant" actress. She was able to take situations and make them work out for her. She was beautiful and talented, ready for anything, and simply dynamic to watch her be all of those things, in only one human being. I knew I had to include "Paige" in my daughters name, so she could be all of these things one day.

The movie Flashdance, really takes the cake though. Jennifer Beals plays Alex, and it was about a woman who worked as a welder by day and a dancer by night. She was trying to achieve her ultimate goal of becoming a professional ballet dancer. She cried heart felt tears and she wanted to be so much, yet she thought she had so little. She opened up her heart enough to let the goodness in. What captivated me most about her character was her strength and drive to never give up on her dream. Being able to do what it took to progress in her life. She had so much grace when....she wanted to, and she had so much "Fire" in her soul! She could hang out with the boys or mingle with the riches.

That's how my daughter, my love, became Alexandria Paige. I knew that she could use Alex, if she wanted to be a tomboy like her mother, she could use Ally is she wanted to be friendly and lighthearted, and she could use Alexandria, if she wanted to be titled or sophisticated.

I gave so much heart in naming her, and I love her so much. I wanted her to have every chance in this life. She is a completely beautiful and well rounded young lady. Sometimes at night when we both get really tired, we lay on the couch together, as I stroke her hair, like I did when she was a baby, and we get the giggles for hours. We talk about life, school, and boys. We share our lives and feelings and it just makes me so proud to be her Momma.