Baby Elliot ... going on five days old
Urgent.
A retraction has been issued.
Allow me to elaborate.
First, the back story:
In the weeks leading up to Erica's due date, she and Chad were having trouble choosing the name.
I would say that perhaps half a dozen names were considered as strong contenders.
But as time went on, two names (first and middle) emerged as the finalists: Jack, and Elliot.
Erica was team Elliot. Chad was team Jack.
While Chad was not at all averse to one of the child's names being Elliot, he wanted his son to be known as and referred to as Jack.
While Erica was not averse to one of the child's names being Jack, she had zero interest in calling him Jack and could not agree to that.
So if it ended up being Jack Elliot, the understanding would be that he would go by a double name.
No Jack without Elliot.
But then, maybe ten days out, Cherica reached a different consensus. Jack was removed from the mix. They would name their boy Elliot Stanley.
(Stanley was TG's father's name. Erica, more than any other of my late in-laws' grandchildren, resembles her paternal grandfather.)
Erica was thrilled.
While Chad was obliged to give up the name Jack, he agreed to it and seemed all right with it and, for a few days at least, the matter seemed settled.
Here's your sign
But a few days after that, he changed his mind. He wanted the baby named Jack Elliot and consulted with Erica about the likelihood of that happening.
She semi-reluctantly agreed, but on a provisional basis. As in, the only way she would agree to name the child Jack Elliot is if he were known by and called the double name: Jack Elliot.
Not Jack, by itself. She would not agree to that.
So it was that just before six o'clock in the morning last Thursday, the baby was born. I was present and, moments after the birth, wanting to send pictures of the baby to family members, I checked with Cherica one last time.
Is his name Jack Elliot? I asked.
Erica looked up at Chad, who looked down at her. She nodded and he nodded.
Later that day, in the afternoon during a quiet moment when it was only she and I in her hospital room, Erica told me that she was having misgivings about the baby's name.
Specifically, she regretted agreeing to name him Jack Elliot since it would mean always calling him that and having to gently correct anyone who called him merely "Jack" without bothering to add the Elliot.
Which we all know would have happened, and it would not have been anyone's fault. It's just the way these things tend to go.
I told her she needed to talk to her husband and tell him how she felt.
She didn't have a real chance to do that until a day or so later, when they were at home. There was a discussion but no immediate resolution.
Erica was miserable. Chad did not realize that she was miserable, but as it turned out, neither of them were enjoying calling their baby Jack Elliot.
Yesterday afternoon, they had another private conversation.
They acknowledged the dilemma, weighed their options, and came to a decision: they would change their son's name to Elliot Jack.
And call him Elliot.
Final answer.
The subject of the naming controversy slept through most of it
Right away, they were both visibly happier. Erica suggested that Chad use the name Jack as an endearment, or private nickname, for Elliot.
Chad agreed that that would be acceptable.
The takeaway: Decide a new baby's name before it's born.
If you can.
So there you have it.
Welcome to the world, Baby Elliot. As your loving family, we may find ourselves sojourning in a state of confusion from time to time, but we will make every attempt not to take up permanent residence there.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Monday
