The power of the name

Names are powerful things. Might not believe it at first. But meeting someone who knows your name puts them in a favorable place with you. Maybe you have met once or maybe just talked briefly. Hearing your name always catches your attention. And usually your goodwill. I’m sure it works the other way around too.

Even more powerful than hearing your name from strangers or friends, it’s hearing it from your son. Especially for the first time. The first time your kid says your name is such a pleasant surprise. What’s dad’s name? “Ladu”. Close enough. He can’t pronounce R just yet. Might take a bit longer to hear “Radu”.

At almost 2 years and 10 months, he already knows the names of his colleagues at the daycare. For me, that sounds fabulous. For Christmas, they took a group photo with each kid and teacher. We printed it and he loves to tell us each kid’s name from the picture. This way we also found out what’s his best friend and a bit about the others.

On the other hand, I’m really bad with names. Always have been. When I hear somebody’s name, it enters in one ear and out through the other one. It takes me around 3 times of meeting someone to finally remember his/her name.

Guess it’s nature’s way of telling my brain: ok, maybe you can squeeze one more name in there. Maybe its something wrong with me. Definitely. But I’m trying to improve.

What about you? Are you good with names and how do you react when you hear your name?

If you get a chance, check out my book:

Side by side is a book about the first years of parenting. Both the beauty and the hidden side of parenting. The long nights and troubled days. Parents who try and fail and then try again. And how your little one puts a smile on your face and you forget everything just in time to start a new challenging day.  It follows the first 2 years of a new dad and his journey, side by side, along with his son.