Celebrate Your Name

copy of email to my granddaughter who is serving a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Happy Celebrate Your Name Week!  

I am typing this on Sunday - Namesake Day.  Namesake Day is a holiday for learning about the story of how you got your name.  And where your surname comes from. Well, you know your story, do you not?  (Acadia was named for Acadia National Park - a pretty name for a beautiful place where her parents spend their honeymoon)

I have never been too fond of my name. It is from the Greek for strange or foreign, from which barbarian comes. When I told my mother I didn't like my name, she was hurt. She said she named me after her best friend. I wish she had told me sooner and had told me about Barbara. And why didn't I ask her then? Now I wonder what Barbara was like and what drew them as friends.  Maybe I would like my name if I knew. My mother is long since dead and I will never know. I have since known some lovely Barbaras and that helps some, but I am really still not fond of my name.

Which last name do I claim?  

I was born Mijares, a habitational name for millet fields in Spain.  Mijares is a noble Spanish name. Does that mean noble character or like upper class? I heard my family were landowners in the Philippines. 

My second last name or first adopted name was Reed.  I was thinking that someone lived near a marshy area and did something with reeds.  No, Reed apparently comes from Read, but is not about being literate. Read comes from old English read which means red and probably started with a red-headed person.  

My third last name, second adopted name, and legal maiden name is Owes.  The family story is that the family came from Sweden with the name Aas which was pronounced owes.  It comes from a topographical name like ridge which was a common name in many farmsteads. When the family came to America, smart alec Americans changed the name to double ss instead of double aa.  When the family learned what ass meant, they changed the spelling to Owes. 

My married name Robarts derives from the personal name Robert which is from Old German “hrod” and “behrt” which mean “fame” and “bright”.

What exciting happenings this week?  Well, I went to the dentist. Hygienist, actually. Despite the great improvements in dentistry, I still hate/fear going to the dentist.  My childhood dentist was not sympathetic, had big hands, and in a day when needles were sharpened and reused, he did the later but seemed to omit the former. I can remember the pushing, pushing, pushing before the needle broke through.  How wonderful are our super sharp, disposable needles! Probably bad for the environment, eh? What isn’t? No needles were required for my visit Tuesday. Just a check and clean. My hygienist was sympathetic, gentle, encouraging, and friendly. 

As Relief Society secretary, I am supposed to submit a quarterly history.  I wrote up the first two months and asked my president to check it out. She said she enjoyed reading it but it was not what they asked for.  So I reviewed instructions again and did a re-write. She likes it. We shall see what they say when I submit at the end of March. The sample they gave us referred to recognizing the hand of God.  After each event, they wrote of the HOG moment. We were not comfortable with that, so I wrote about being Touched By the Spirit - TBS. 

I listen/read the whole Anne of Green Gables series.  So charming and delightful. “Rilla of Ingleside” has a completely different tone than the others, however.  The others are light, amusing, and happy. Rilla is about the home front during World War I, and the care and worry about the boys over there.   Same charming personalities and home events, but all overlaid with concern for loved ones at war. 

I also read - on actual bound paper! - “The Wild Robot” and “The Wild Robot Escapes” by Peter Brown.  Very quick, simple, middle grade reads, but thought provoking, charming, and I found it hard to put down.  Roz, the robot, was the only survivor of a ship wreck and had to learn to survive on uninhabited (by humans or robots) island. 

The trouble with finishing a book/series is figuring out what to read next.  Listening to a book makes doing chores easier. We are going to need some good audio books for our drive to Arizona soon.  One General Conference weekend should get us there. But even General Authorities apparently read books and see movies, they quote them sometimes. 

I am Ministering Sister to the Stake Relief Society President who is practically perfect and always ministering to those around her.  What can I do for her?! A couple of times we went to lunch - sometimes with Miriam - and just visited without pressures and responsibilities.  Now she is working almost full time and does not actually get a lunch break. She is a Life/Job Coach working with slightly disabled people often at their jobs.  Well, little over a week ago, she asked me to pray for her as she prepared to speak at the Spanish Branch Conference. Gladly. I prayed for her to feel God's love for her and for the branch sisters and to help them feel that love.  I prayed for her to know what to say and how to say it. I prayed for her to be comfortable. I told her what I was praying for. That Sunday I sent her a little text emoji of praying hands and heart. She came right over after church was out and gave me a hug.  She said it was just what she needed and that she had told the sisters and one came up to her afterwards saying it was just was she needed! Small and simple things. 

Hugs to you!