We've gotten our fair share of frequently-asked questions (FAQs) since we started the pregnancy journey.
And one of those has come in various versions. But they all point to the question of "Have you chosen a name for your baby?"
Underneath this curiosity and what may seem as just a run-of-the-mill pregnancy conversation topic, I suppose we all ask about a baby's name because we all want and seek identity. Hopefully, not ours but that of the baby in Camille's womb.
We all tend to form impressions based on a person's name. We wonder if he or she is a "Junior" or if there was some devotion that his/her parents had to a particular saint. Is it the name of someone famous? Someone close to us? Or does it sound cool?
A name can bring back memories. Of childhood past. Of people we didn't like. -- of course, you wouldn't want to name your child after the person who bullied you in nursery.
Some names are associated with a certain aura or feel. If you were named Kawayan, it seems like you are really bound to become an artist. In the same way, it's hard to imagine having a lawyer named Beyonce.
We've come up with a shortlist of names and we have yet to decide on the final name of our son. It is quite possible that the name will be decided on as Camille goes through the miraculous process called labor. But in the last 7-8 months, we have called our little miracle, Bogs. Yes, Bogs.
So what's in a name?
A whole life ahead.
It is one of the many choices that first-time parents like us have to make as we speak. The implications can be life-forming and life-changing. It spells the difference between friendly banter and a fistfight. It defines how long it will take up to fill up an immigration form. Checks will have to be re-written because the second name was omitted. And so on.
While a name does indeed identify us, it does not define us.
What's in a name?
A whole life ahead.
We choose to call our son, Bogs. We do so knowing that Bogs can stand for "Bugoy" or "Boggino" (a name Fr. Benny de Guzman gave to our yet unconceived child before the wedding).
A name may have images and impressions associated to it, but these can be changed. He has a clean canvas for him to paint his life on - and we will be there beside him as he defines the colors and hues.
What's in a name?
A whole life ahead.
Bogs. Our son. He shares in our history, in our heritage, in our lives. As we will share in his future.
And we will love and cherish him as deserving of all of God's blessings.
A whole life ahead.
