Names

I've been thinking about names recently.

When we were dating, we would often use each other's names when talking to each other or emailing each other. Using someone's name adds emphasis. It personalizes what you are saying. It makes it just for that person. "I love you" is always a powerful phrase. But adding in the person's name to it makes it even more powerful.

For some reason though, we kind of stopped doing it after we started being together all the time when we were married. Recently, we've started again though. Some nights before bed we'll add our names to our nightly "I love you." Even now it really makes a difference. Names are powerful.

Which brings me to my other thought on names. They are powerful. They are meaningful. They are a representation of who you are as a person and the family and heritage all of that carries with it. And they are not to be taken lightly. Getting married is definitely a time to think about names and I made it clear from the start that I was not changing my name when we got married because I was not changing who I was completely. I am very proud of my name. I'm proud of the family it represents and the heritage I have with me because of my name. We live our lives to bring honor to our family names and the people who had them before.

The more I thought about it that way, it changed how I thought about last names and marriage. I don't want to say that I "took" HP's last name from him, but rather that he "gave" it to me. In essence it's saying, "I love you and know you will never do anything with my name that will ever dishonor it. I trust you with my name, what it stands for, and who I am." Now, that might be a bit extravagant, but I really like the feel of it. I know not everyone looks at it that way, but it's how I am looking at it.

There is definitely power in a name.