Name please...

Kelsey --- Fierce Island

"What's in a name?

That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo and Juliet

"A child's name has singular importance as he embarks on learning about literacy...It enhances his security and his self-image, giving him a feeling of importance.....~ Marie M. Clay, Becoming Literate
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

Lodge - Family who lived in a cottage

Does our name describe us or do we give meaning to our name? I have been giving a lot of thought to idea of a name lately. When choosing a name for Madelynn I looked at different sites that explained the meaning of a name and where it came from (Madelynn - woman of Magdala, high tower, Ruth - Companion, Friend), I thought about my Grandma Ruth and what a great person she was. As I got married and changed my last name to Hatch I was a little sad not to write Lodge any more. I had been conncected to that name for almost 24 years of my life. People I didn't even know would ask me in college, "Are you a Lodge girl?" I would proudly say "YES!" I was always very careful as I was growing up, and even now, of the choices I made because I knew I was a "Lodge Girl" and people would be watching how I behaved. My parents raised me to represent my family in a positive way. It was good to be known as a "Lodge girl" and it made me proud to identify with it.

So, as I think about changes we have been going through during these last few years I have been thinking about what makes me a Lodge. There are no more Lodge kids to carry on the name, we have all girls. My dad has passed away and my mom may get married at some point and no longer be a Lodge. I have my Aunts and Uncles left with the Lodge name.

So, do we define our name or does our name define us? This is my question I have been pondering. Will I be less of a "Lodge Girl" if fewer and fewer people around me carry the name? Am I still a "Lodge" on the inside because of how I was raised and is it part of what defines my character? Does "Lodge" live on in action and deed if the name is no more? So, the Shakespearean questions........what is in a name?