Spring?



I would like to go to here now.
It is supposedly “spring” here, but I woke up to fresh snow on the ground, so I’m not buying it.
Today I would like to be on a beach, specifically this one.

Josephine

It may sound like a strange “hobby,” but I love thinking about and discussing baby names. I think many women do, and even in my single years it was something I pondered often, but perhaps not with the frequency I currently roll over names in my head. (It’s also easier now that I have a husband’s last name to pair with hypothetical first names.)
When Sarah was pregnant with MB, we wrote out potential names on our office dry erase board, and she would come in each day with reports from her husband, even once bringing in his index card of suggestions. (You might have to know Sarah’s husband to know how funny some of these were, but let’s just say he really liked Serenity.)
I am in that child-birthing phase of life, where someone I know has been expecting since 2004, at least. So it’s a much-discussed topic.
Many many years ago — before I was even out of high school I believe — I reserved the name Josephine for any future daughters. My family humored me, and to my surprise, no one has used it. My brother and his wife discussed Jo as a middle name when they were pregnant with Michael, but as many of my cousins have Jo as a middle name that didn’t really count as “using” the name. (They are currently expecting again, though we don’t yet know the baby’s sex, or if Jo is even still on the middle name table.)
My grandmother was named for her father, Joseph, though he was called Red much of his life. My grandmother herself never really went by her full name either, for that matter. She was either Jodi or Jo (or Mom or Grandmother or MeMe!). I was an older child — 8 or 9 maybe — before I even realized my grandmother had a “real” name. I was never around anyone who used it! A. and I even have a secret nickname that we will likely use, rather than always calling her by her full name.
I think about my daughter Josephine sometimes, and I wonder if she will be like her great-grandmother. Will she be a hard-worker? A good cook? Will she like look like me, she who looks like her mother, who looks like her own mother? Will my Josephine even be blood related to me at all?
Today I found a site that tells you meanings of names, and I plugged in Josephine. It’s funny that I’ve never looked it up before; the traditional meaning doesn’t matter as much when a name has such a personal history.
Josephine means “God will increase.” I can’t imagine a more fitting meaning, for my grandmother’s legacy increases daily. From seven children, she was blessed with 17 grandchildren. From those 17 grandchildren, she knew 31 great-grandchildren. (A number that continues to grow.) And from those 30 great-grandchildren, a dozen or so great-great-grandchildren, many of whom she met and held and loved.
And because of that legacy, God’s glory is increased as well. From one woman, generations of believers were birthed.
I miss my grandmother daily, and wonder if she knows how I long for another Josephine to bless my life. How long will I wait?

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