I started out just as stressed out as before. What, oh, what could I name a THIRD little boy!?! Ack! As we sat in the doctor's office trying to figure out just what our options were I was bewildered. When the doctor came in to tell me how wonderfully healthy my little boy seemed to be I made a joke. "We could always name the baby Brad after the doctor." The doctor's head immediately came up, he smiled the biggest smile and got so excited about even the possibility. Apparently, in all the years he's been a doctor he has never delivered a Brad. I meant it as a joke but for the first time I had someone react the way I always expected people to react to having a child named after them, with excitement and a sense of being honored. When we walked out Hubby and I chatted about Brad as an option.
The rule has always been family names OR the names of people who are important to us. The question became, "Is our doctor important to us?" We considered that for a while. He is the man we trust with my life on the operating table. That's pretty important. He is also the person who held my hand when he saw how nervous the anesthesiologist made me. (Come on people, he was sticking a needle in my spine- don't miss, don't miss!) More than that, when my gall bladder gave out and I was laying in a hospital bed wondering why an internalist would not come see me, my OB is the person who recognized my husband and children in an elevator well enough to find out what was going on and light a fire under the hospital's behind to get me seen. He even called and checked on me. How many people can say that about their doctor? He not only remembered my name but my hubby's and my kids. He cared enough to make sure we were being taken care of. In short, he cares. So yes, he is of qualifying importance!
I said to Hubby, "He reacted the way I have always wanted someone to react, he has been awesome to us and has so many qualities that I would want in my son AND I think I really kind of like the name Brad. It's strong and sweet at the same time." Hubby just smiled. He agreed to Brad as one of the baby's names but said we had to find a second name that could apply to both our families.
I immediately hit the ancestry.com account. I looked and looked. I traced my family back to the Mayflower. Hubby's mother already had his family traced back just as far. The list of common names was very, very small. To be exact, there were three. We didn't know what to do. There was only one name that was common to both our families where we knew anything about the men who had the name. We decided to give it some time and it would come to us. And then our hearts broke.
One afternoon, when I was taking a nap, I was awoken by Hubby's mere presence in the room. He was so upset by what was being said to him on the phone that his demeanor woke me up. Once he saw my eyes he simply said, "Uncle Mike died." I could see the shock in his eyes but even I was more shocked than I know how to describe. Over the next few days I did what I could to help Justin through his grief but the quandary of the baby's name never left my mind.
You see, Michael is one of the three names our families share. In fact it is the one name where we can both describe the Michael's in our family. Actually, we can both describe each other's Michael's for that matter. Justin's Uncle Mike was big. In everything he was big. He was tall and broad. His voice filled the entire house without even trying. His good humor filled everyone around him. He lived life in a big way. He loved his family in a big way. I wish I was a more eloquent wordsmith so I could explain just how important he was to the entire family. I find myself lacking though and can only ask that everyone believe me when I say that he was wonderful. And with each passing hour I thought of how Uncle Mike would have loved having a little namesake.
The only problem- I was too frightened of sending Hubby over the edge of grief to mention it to him. I waited and waited for Hubby to mention it. I dropped little hints. Nothing. Eventually I even asked his mother and sister what they thought. Still I hadn't mentioned it to Hubby. When I finally mentioned it to Hubby he jumped at the idea like he had been subconsciously waiting for me to say it out loud. He loved the idea.
The next evening we spoke to Hubby's aunt about it. With her blessing we finally had a name for our newest addition and once again we KNOW that we have chosen amazing men for our son to model himself after. And I know that our baby will have the biggest guardian angel in the heavens watching over him. So it is with pleasure that I officially announce to everyone that our new baby will be named
Bradley Michael!
