Memory Monday-What's in a Name!

My mom pregnant with one of us

(the toddler looks like John Robert)

Since I just celebrated my 50th birthday Jennifer suggested I tell the stories surrounding my birth. So here goes. Beware much rambling ahead!

I was born on Mother's Day 1959, the fifth child and because I was a girl (the third) also the last child to my parents in a six year span. I say that because after their first child, a girl they called Kim (my mom wanted a boy, Tim) my dad said he wanted four sons, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John but what they got 14 months later was another girl. That delivery has a story of it's own that I may as well tell here since I'm rambling anyway. It was a Sunday when my mother went into labor. Since my parents were both born and raised in downtown Cleveland they either walked where they needed to go or took the bus (my mom didn't even get her drivers license until she was 30). My mom with a toddler in tow walked to mass (the day before their wedding anniversary), while my dad chose to play softball with his buddies. This didn't make my mother very happy. She went into labor and had to walk home from church, crawling up the steps to their apartment and then having to wait for him to come home from his game. Since they had no girls names picked out she came home as "Baby Girl". Later my dad went to City Hall to give her an official name. Without any help from my mom, Dad thought he would do her a favor and name their new daughter Nancy, my mom's name. She wasn't happy, she didn't even like her name so she looked at her first born and asked what would you like to call the baby and she said cookie. So Cookie it was and still is although legally she is Nancy. The next two babies WERE boys and they were named Matthew & Mark.

My brothers Matthew & Mark

Matthew's grandson Luke and our grandson, John

Our grandchildren share names!

John's middle name is Robert, my dad's name,

Ella's middle name is Nancy, my mother's name &

Wyatt's middle name is Thomas, my husband's name

Then it was my turn to be born and I also came home as "Baby Girl". The night I came home from the hospital they watched the TV show "Father Knows Best" the youngest daughter's name in the family was Kathy. So I became Kathy (even though my Aunt Kay,my dad's sister, thought I was named for her.) My dad was very sweet to my mom this time and even bought her some fresh strawberries for her first dinner home which she loved.The problem came when my grandmother served them to the kids instead, oops!

Kim, Cookie, Matthew, Mark & Kathy