It's Not Fair
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"It's not fair!" Alia says to me one morning.
We are in bed and she is looking at me with her angry, pouty face. I am used to this phrase. Both Alia and Chandler throw it around quite often. TV time. Computer time. Room cleaning. Who is rewarded for what. Who's juice glass is fuller. But on this morning, it comes out of the blue. I prompt her for more information.
"Neviyah's name is long and my name is short!"
Ah. There we go. Neviyah has more letters in her name than Alia does. This has the potential to scar her for life, I am told. We discuss syllables--both have three. To no avail. It all comes down to whether or not one's name is long or short, and hers is short. Don't I know that the big sister is supposed to have the longer name?
I tell her there are many ways to spell her name. Alia. Aliah. Aliyah. Aaliyah. I tell her she can spell her name any way she wants. She is shocked.
"Really, Momma? I can pick how I want to spell it?"
I tell her yes. She has a hard time believing I will just let her change the spelling. I explain to her that a name is important and I want her to be comfortable with her name. If changing the way she spells it helps her to fit into her name, then that is what I want for her. So, she is contemplating which spelling she prefers. I will get back to you to let you know her preference.
...
"It's not fair!" Alia says to me one morning.
We are in bed and she is looking at me with her angry, pouty face. I am used to this phrase. Both Alia and Chandler throw it around quite often. TV time. Computer time. Room cleaning. Who is rewarded for what. Who's juice glass is fuller. But on this morning, it comes out of the blue. I prompt her for more information.
"Neviyah's name is long and my name is short!"
Ah. There we go. Neviyah has more letters in her name than Alia does. This has the potential to scar her for life, I am told. We discuss syllables--both have three. To no avail. It all comes down to whether or not one's name is long or short, and hers is short. Don't I know that the big sister is supposed to have the longer name?
I tell her there are many ways to spell her name. Alia. Aliah. Aliyah. Aaliyah. I tell her she can spell her name any way she wants. She is shocked.
"Really, Momma? I can pick how I want to spell it?"
I tell her yes. She has a hard time believing I will just let her change the spelling. I explain to her that a name is important and I want her to be comfortable with her name. If changing the way she spells it helps her to fit into her name, then that is what I want for her. So, she is contemplating which spelling she prefers. I will get back to you to let you know her preference.
...
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