… would still smell like eau de wet dog after a romp in the sprinkler. (My apologies to the Bard for butchering Juliet’s musings.) Despite my best attempt at being organized for the first week of school, I neglected to look at the boys’ take-home folders last night, which meant scrambling this morning to check worksheets, announcements, etc.

Five minutes before they needed to walk out the door, I pulled two identical fill-in-the-blank (more like short essay) forms from the kindergarteners’ folders. They’ve been reading Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and talking about how special names are. The worksheet asked parents to explain a) how the child’s name was chosen and b) how it suits them perfectly.

Oi vey. I couldn’t even recall the exact meaning of the first name of the one to whom I gave birth, much less my sweet nephew!

Thanks be to Google, I found the origins and scribbled a brief explanation on the forms. However, something struck me as poignant in the midst of this rushed morning while I tried to figure out how to explain why my nephew’s name suits him. His first name comes from nature, and I don’t remember my brother having any particular reason for choosing it, other than they liked the way it sounded. His middle name can be translated as “thunder,” and again – I don’t think there was a significant reason for the choice other than its uniqueness. I started thinking about the pair of names, and it dawned on me: The thunder – while sometimes scary and unsettling – accompanies the rain, which helps the land. This little boy joined our immediate family under tumultuous circumstances, yet he’s a blessing just by being here. Thank You, Lord, for that reminder this morning.

In case you’re curious, the other kindergartener (who is technically the “baby” of the family by three whole weeks) has a pair of names that reiterate his “littlest one” place in the birth order. We didn’t particularly plan it that way; we just liked the way his name sounded (and, quite frankly, we had pert’ near exhausted our list of boy names!), but it is interesting now to reflect back on it.

What about your name or your kids’ names? Is there a story behind them?