- U-na-itwa means "you are called' in Swahili
Dear Emma,
Long story short (because you will have heard this story a million times by the time you read this note, and your name may or may not legally be Emma), I decided to call you Emma because that is who you were always supposed to be. When I was pregnant with you, there were only two names that were possibilities for me: Emma and Mahogany. No, you weren't gonna be Emma Mahogany or Mahogany Emma, although I actually like the way the latter sounds, I liked both of these names individually, for different reasons. I was so sure that you were going to be born with dark skin like mine, so I thought that Mahogany would make a beautiful name for my little chocolate drop. However, like I said previously, you were not chocolate at birth whatsoever, so although it would have still been a unique name, it didn't end up making the cut.
And even though you were born on the date that my mother was buried, and her spirit visited me while you were in my belly, Emma didn't initially make the cut either. Your dad didn't like the name, said it was too country. I didn't agree, but I didn't fight for the name either. I went ahead and let him name you. I let him give you a name that was similar to your sisters', which really had no metaphorical meaning because you had no even known them until you were older. I have regretted that decision ever since your name was placed on your birth certificate. The cool thing about names though is that they can always be changed. Last names and first names. As of right now, I have not legally changed your name to Emma because I still need to talk things over with your dad, but you are completely use to being called both Emma and Jalia, and you are just as happy being Emma as you are being Jalia.
I told myself that this year, I would start exclusively calling you Emma. I have not been sticking to that, but this blog is a good start. The end of your 1st grade year will be here in a couple of months, so when you return to school as a 2nd grader, you will be going by Emma. I am looking forward to that.
Love,
Mommy
Dear Emma,
Long story short (because you will have heard this story a million times by the time you read this note, and your name may or may not legally be Emma), I decided to call you Emma because that is who you were always supposed to be. When I was pregnant with you, there were only two names that were possibilities for me: Emma and Mahogany. No, you weren't gonna be Emma Mahogany or Mahogany Emma, although I actually like the way the latter sounds, I liked both of these names individually, for different reasons. I was so sure that you were going to be born with dark skin like mine, so I thought that Mahogany would make a beautiful name for my little chocolate drop. However, like I said previously, you were not chocolate at birth whatsoever, so although it would have still been a unique name, it didn't end up making the cut.
And even though you were born on the date that my mother was buried, and her spirit visited me while you were in my belly, Emma didn't initially make the cut either. Your dad didn't like the name, said it was too country. I didn't agree, but I didn't fight for the name either. I went ahead and let him name you. I let him give you a name that was similar to your sisters', which really had no metaphorical meaning because you had no even known them until you were older. I have regretted that decision ever since your name was placed on your birth certificate. The cool thing about names though is that they can always be changed. Last names and first names. As of right now, I have not legally changed your name to Emma because I still need to talk things over with your dad, but you are completely use to being called both Emma and Jalia, and you are just as happy being Emma as you are being Jalia.
I told myself that this year, I would start exclusively calling you Emma. I have not been sticking to that, but this blog is a good start. The end of your 1st grade year will be here in a couple of months, so when you return to school as a 2nd grader, you will be going by Emma. I am looking forward to that.
Love,
Mommy
