A story for you CallaMae

CallaMae, Dad and I struggled to agree on a name for you.  He really liked one, I wasn't so sure, I liked one or two and he didn't.  It was tough.  And I like to have a name picked before a baby's arrival.  One night I was watching your friends Grant and Oliver and was looking through a magazine at their house and the name Calla was on a baby name list.  It stood out to me.  I thought about it and thought about it.  I then had to research it.  It means beautiful.  It starts with a "C" so we would have names starting with letters A through E.  I liked it and it felt right.  I had other names that were names I liked and would have considered, Iris, Scarlett (except you now have a friend Scarlett whose just 3 months older than you), Ada, Isla, etc, but when I kept running the name Calla through my head I knew that was YOUR name.  And since my middle name is Mae, I thought Calla Mae sounded just right.  I drive Dad crazy with baby naming.  He treats it like it's not such a big deal but I think if a name has to stick with you forever, it has to be a big deal.  I mentioned the name to Dad and he wasn't so sure.  But one day he came home from work and said, "I've thought about Calla Mae and I like it.  But I want to call her Calla Mae."  So that sent my mind going again.  Okay, how do we do that...hyphen, all together with a lowercase M.  Agh.  I chatted with my friends and we decided that CallaMae would work the best.  No space or hyphen to mess with the social security department or someone reading your name off a list like your future teachers.  And since Elise is a form of Elizabeth, that's how we came up with your middle name.  But Dad, oh Dad.  I had it all squared away.  I was calling you CallaMae Elise when I talked to you when no one else was around.  It was your name and I knew it.  Dad made a comment how he still wasn't so sure, just though it was a "nice" name but maybe not perfect.  That was a struggle for me.  I wanted him to be happy as well.  In reality, looking back I shouldn't have been so worked up because I knew Dad would be happy with it.  But anyway, it left a small slice of doubt in my head until....

about 2 weeks before you were born, I took your sister Eliza to playgroup at the library.  Usually we leave right away when it's over but Eliza said she wanted to pick a book.  I agreed so she ran to a shelf, grabbed the first book she could, and handed it to me.  She did not look at any.  She did not contemplate.  She didn't even touch more than one book.  Of the thousands of books, she pulled out that one book and handed it to me.  I didn't even look at the title but I asked her if she was sure it was the one she wanted.  It was.  No question.  When we got home, I put the book on top of the cabinet where I usually keep library books.  I still hadn't looked at the title.  More often than not, when we check out books, they need to be returned before we get a chance to look at them.  But this time was thankfully different.  A day or two after checking out the book I pulled it down and asked Eliza if she'd like me to read it to her.  I was pleased when I saw the title was On the Day You Were Born (I was anxiously awaiting your arrival and I thought the title was fitting.)  I opened the book and read through each page carefully.  I was taken aback when on the dedication page, I saw the author, Debra Fraiser, had dedicated the book to her daughter CALLA!  Oh CallaMae.  I knew that was YOUR name.  I actually emailed the author and she responded back saying they had chosen the name from a painting done by their favorite artist and that their Calla had grown up to be a strong artist herself.  Neat huh?  Well sweet girl,, that was the story I wanted to tell you tonight.  You definitely fit your name.  Dad and I can't picture you as anything or anyone else.  Love you so!