Rose

Since becoming pregnant, and having the great baby name debate, I've noticed a trend that I'm not such a fan of. Now, I don't want anyone to misunderstand me, I'm not hatin, I'm just sayin. The middle name Rose has become the new Marie. I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but when I was little I noticed that most of my friends had the middle name Marie or Maria. It's a beautiful name that flows beautifully with many other names. And now I feel like Rose is becoming the new Marie. I love the name Marie, but I love my middle name Rose more. See, it's extra special. Not that other people's names aren't special, but I feel mine is extra special. I may or may not be biased :) See, my middle name is also my mother's maiden name. It's just her and my aunt, and my grandfather is an only child, so the name Rose, at least for our immediate family, stops with them. So when she gave me the middle name Rose, it was her way of carrying on her family name. Then my cousin Alison was born and she was made a Rose as well. That's when I decided that I would start a new family tradition. The first born daughter would get the middle name Rose, hence how Miss Charlotte Rose got her name. Heather's daughter will have the middle name Rose, and Alison has said she would give her first daughter the middle name Rose. Hopefully our daughters will feel as strongly about this tradition as we do, and continue it with their daughters. So here's where I start to feel territorial. And I know this is totally and completely ridiculous, trust me, I am aware of just how irrational I am being, but I don't like other people using my name! It's not even that they're using it, it's that I don't want Charlotte to feel like her name is any less special b/c she's most likely going to have a few friends with the same middle name.  Half of me is flattered (maybe not the right word to use?) that so many people love this name as much as my family and I do, and the other half is a little annoyed b/c I don't feel like it's as special to them as it is to us. See, told ya, totally irrational. Ha. I was hesitant to even say this to Joe, b/c I knew he'd think I was a crazy person, but he said he got it. Now, he may have just been being a good husband, but I think he meant it. He knows how special my family and our small traditions are to me, so I really think he understands where I'm coming from. And I hope this isn't coming across as hateful, b/c it's not. I get emotionally attached to things that most people wouldn't, and this is no exception. Oh well, I should be thrilled that more people are starting to see the beauty in the name Rose. I'm gonna work on that :)