Confession #9: My son's name is already a pain

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.