I've wanted to remain as anonymous as possible with this blog, but the information I am about to reveal will make it obvious to anyone who knows me who I am. Nevertheless, I promised to make this an honest blog and this is what is on my mind to write about today.
My husband and I met the summer after high school at my first job ever at Toys R Us. We went on a double date (he was with my best friend and I was with a guy that I would rather forget about) and ended up having great conversation and flirtation the whole time. I left for college soon (about 2 hours from my hometown), but I wrote him a letter and he wrote back immediately. The rest is history.
Needless to say, Toys R Us has a special place in our hearts. Ever since I can remember, we've said that if we had a boy we'd name him Geoffrey after the giraffe that is the mascot of Toys R Us. And although when I was younger I'd always envisioned myself having a little girl to dress up and play dolls with, I've also had the feeling that it was destiny to have a boy. It feels good to know that there is a special meaning behind our son's name. My husband's middle name is the same, only spelled the traditional way (Jeffrey if you haven't figured it out).
Most people have a nice reaction when I tell them why we named him the way we did. "Awww...that's so sweet!" The male students at my school have had a different reaction. "That's so gay." "You named him after a giraffe?" "That's not how your pronounce that...look at geography...his name is G-off-ree."
Although I ignore them (after all, they're teenagers...what do they know...they wanted me to name him Onyx!), I have to admit that it is a pain to have a name spelled differently than usual. I actually LOVE the spelling, but every time I have to tell a stranger his name, I automatically follow it with "G-E-O..." Seriously...every time. And then I feel compelled to tell them why it's spelled that way. "He's named after the giraffe at Toys R Us because that's where my husband and I met."
Quick funny story:
The day after I gave birth I was laying in the bed and the lady who types up the birth certificate called me to find out his name.
"Geoffrey...G-E-O..."
"What?"
"G-E-O-F-F-R-E-Y"
"What's the father's middle name?" (of course after asking for his first name)
"Jeffrey...J-E..."
"What?"
"J-E-F-F-R-E-Y"
I'm sure she thought I was C-R-A-Z-Y.
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Hi! I'm visiting from MBC. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI came from MBC too. My name (Aimee) is a little unusual as well. I always have to do the same thing, say my name and automatically start spelling - A I M .... But I have always really liked having a unique spelling. I like it way better than plain old Amy. And now that I've gotten into blogs I'm finding a lot more Aimee's. It's not as unusual as I thought.
ReplyDeleteI have to laugh, because my name is spelled Alissa, but it's actually pronounced like "Elisa" (uh-lee-sah). So, I've had a lifetime of correcting people CONSTANTLY. I almost changed my name to Alisa. I knew a Geoff growing up and I love that name...but yeah, he's going to be spelling it for as long as he lives.
ReplyDelete@Alissa...funny that you said that...after all these years on X, I never knew that you pronounced your name that way :)
ReplyDeleteI have a cousin who spells his name the same way. He hated it most of his life but now that he is an adult has gotten over it.
ReplyDeleteI also work for a family and the girls dad spells his the same way.
This is too funny! Connecting to you from Honest Mommy Bloggers on MBC.
ReplyDeleteMy BIL in Geoff, its British... its not that hard... people will figure it out!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! We spell Jackson's name the traditional way and people STILL ask how to spell it. And my second graders think that we named him after Michael Jackson. They don't even know any Michael Jackson songs. They just know he died. HA Ha!!!
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