thoughts of what's in a name

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Cyn Cyn is part of a new club volleyball team this season, and one of my fellow team parents recently asked me whether she had any nicknames. My initial, short answer was that we typically call her Cyn or Cyn Cyn.

Then I went on to also tell him about how she was named after her aunt, who went by Cindy, but that we don't call her Cindy. I also explained how we usually call Cyn Cyn "Até," so it's easiest to say "Até, Ava," when we're calling out for both girls.

The moment just made me appreciate that Andew and I made the choice to name our first child after Cindy. I remember a time when we had joked about our child being named either "Cynthia" (for a girl) or "Cynthio" (for a boy).

Before Cindy passed away, the girl's name we had picked out was Naomi. I have a vivid memory of Andrew and I driving to the hospital while I was in labor. I had a little notepad and pen in my hand, and I was writing down "Cynthia Naomi Beall" and "Naomi Cynthia Beall," just to see how the names looked.

I'm glad we ended up with Cynthia Naomi Beall, and I'm pretty sure Cyn Cyn is happy with it too. Having her named after Cindy is a lovely tribute and constant reminder of my beautiful sister.