Naming a baby, there’s an interesting experience. When Shayne was pregnant with our first child we compiled several lists and notes of names we liked.
We also had the added pressure, and excitement, of not knowing the sex of the baby; so we ended up with lists of boys and girls names.
We were mixing and matching names trying to see what flowed and sounded good. We were also trying to think of names that couldn’t be changed or shortened too much.
Being the joker that I can be sometimes I kept throwing weird and wonderful names into the mix, which kept annoying Shayne. I was enjoying myself though.
My father-in-law and I even agreed on Horatio if it was a boy but Shayne refused to even consider it. My grandfather on dads side, his middle name was Horatio, so it was actually a name already in the family.
Every so often I would keep saying “How about Indiana?” The answer back was, “No”. I have always been a big Indiana Jones fan. For most of my childhood I would tell my parents I wanted a whip for my birthday or Christmas but I never got one. I eventually gave up asking when I received two chocolate whip bars for my birthday. I knew then I was never going to get a real one.
I eventually gave up harassing Shayne about calling the baby Indiana. A week or so later I quietly mentioned the name Harrison. She thought about it briefly, then said “Yes, I really like that name”.
A slight smirk started to appear on my face and I eventually couldn’t hold back my smile any longer. Shayne looked at me and said “What?” “Why are you smiling like that?”
I replied “You do know Harrison Ford played Indiana Jones, right?”
“Damn you”, she said.
She wasn’t happy that I had managed to slip that one past her but luckily she really liked the name Harrison, and when our gorgeous little baby boy was born, we named him Harrison.
I can’t wait for him to be a little bit older so we can watch the Indiana Jones movies together.
With our second child on the way we have barely thought about names this time. Shayne has compiled a list but it is no where near as comprehensive as the last one.
We have decided to keep the gender a surprise as well this time around as well, so once again we have to be prepared with boys and girls names.
I’m pretty sure I won’t be allowed to call it Han, Rick, Jack or Richard.
Sailing The Unknown 