Jonah

So, there was a lot of turmoil caused by naming my child. Josh and I had picked a name years ago- just after we got married- and it seemed fine until I was actually pregnant. Suddenly the name Noah annoyed me and I couldn't seem to get the itch out. So about the time we decided to change our OBGYN I decided we had to change the name. This caused a few issues since someone had already told Haydn (my 4 YO niece) that we would be having baby Noah. but we got that straightened out eventually.

So why Jonah?

Well, the most honest answer is that I like the sound of it. It's not a name I've heard a million times and it has a good story behind it. I guess that's the simple answer.

Also, it's got a great connection to a pivotal point in the Hero's Journey. There is a time that the hero finds himself in the belly of the whale (get the Jonah connection?) which is a time when the hero is secluded and must confront his subconscious self. It is this point in the journey that the hero is prepared for the important task ahead of him. It is a time of complete rebirth, both mentally and in some ways physically.

I guess my hope is that Jonah will be the kind of person who can do great things because he is prepared for them. A pretty big task for Josh and me.

Josh and I have decided to make changes in our lives- a shift in priorities- to make Jonah and whatever brothers or sisters he might have in the future the focus. I'll explain all that more later. In the mean time we just accept that we've been entrusted with the most perfect little gift. I'm not sure how you are supposed to look at a child that you've given birth to and want anything less than the most healthy, loving, choices for them. It makes me very glad that I made the birth choices that I made. He came into this world as naturally as possible and I am hoping that we can continue to give him all the good things that God put on this earth, and teach him to be the kind of person that God would have him to be.