The journey from there to here
Published on July 26, 2004 By Gideon MacLeish In Misc
The subject of baby names arose on another thread, and I have to tell you the baby name in our familu of which I am most proud (I love all my girls equally, but my little "mouse" is very dear to me, as I will explain following).

Alannah was born just under two years ago, and her name was a contraction of "ally", suggested by my oldest (7 at the time), and "Anna" (suggested by my second daughter, five at the time). We took the spelling of the name from well known one hit wonder Alannah Myles ("Black Velvet"; probably the only song about Elvis I actually LIKE). Shortly after she was born, we found out she was a varrier for Cystic Fibrosis, and had to wait a month before finding out whether or not she actually had the disease (she doesn't). She started out, and continues to this day to be, a tiny thing (which is one reason I vall her my "mouse"), and at 1 year old, we were back in the hospital, evaluating a heart murmur (she has a pinhole leak between the upper chambers of her heart). At about 20 months of age, she informed us, in no uncertain terms, that she preferred to be called "Loni", and from then on, that has been her name.

What struck me, though, was when I was reading a book on baby names, and found that the name "Ally" means "nobility", and "anna" is a diminutive of Hannah, meaning "favored of God". If anyone's favored of God, it's definitely my little mouse. She plugs away at adversity with a fierce determination, and, despite being very tiny, is also extremely independent.

PS: don't show this post to my other three girls...lol

signing off,

Gideon MacLeish

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