Dear Baby I May Never Have,
If I ever get knocked up, and you are born, and you are a girl, and your name is Kit, this is why.
You dad and I were talking baby names on our drive from Charlotte to Charlottesville last Saturday morning. Ever since my period decided not to show up 3 weeks ago, baby naming has become a bit of a hobby for us both. Not because we’re expecting you, but because we’ve always been wishin’ and hopin’.
I don’t remember how it started, I think because I like names that hearken back to simpler days when kids still ate dirt and no one really cared. You know? Like, names that my grandparents and their classmates would have had. Charlotte. Lillian. Emma. Ruby. Louise. Truman. John. I hate to say it, but I really like Verna, too. Vera is good, like Vera Wang – but I like Verna with an “n” in it. It goes back to this ol’ firecracker that I worked with at Rag Shop when I was in high school. I loved that lady.
On that old-timey note, your dad, to the best of his ability, started naming off American Girl dolls. I am really impressed, because he started right away with my 2 favorites, which are retired by the way, Samantha and Felicity. He REALLY liked Felicity. I like that he is sensitive enough to think about the things that I love. It means so much that he thought to think of AG dolls. You know what I mean? Who does that? Anyway, I took the reigns and started naming everybody else: Kirsten, Addy, Josephina, Kaya, Molly, Kit…
“KIT!” We almost swerved off the road. “I LOOOVE THE NAME KIT!” Tom was freaking out.
I can’t resist that kind of enthusiasm. Like, this whole trying to have a baby thing is based on his enthusiasm in the first place. I could do the baby thing, but it’s scary. I wouldn’t mind having a kid – but I don’t know whether or not I’m cut out to be a grown-up yet. However, when I see how excited he is, it becomes this thing that I would love to do for him. It turns into this whole different creature. I don’t know it I would have picked it, but I really don’t mind it either way. So someday, if I ever have you and you ever ask, I can say – despite what anyone else may think – your name is Kit because your dad LOVED that name.
Incidentally, the name of the American Girl, Kit, is a nickname. “Kit” is short for Margaret Mildred Kittredge. Your mom’s grandma was Gramma Mildred. Weird coincidence. Moving on.
*facepalm* I bought a dress for you to wear to Kelly’s wedding. The wedding is a year away – and I don’t even know whether or not you actually exist. Proof positive that I am just crazy enough to name you after a toy.
By the way, finding a n̶i̶c̶k̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ middle name to pair with such an awesome first name is proving to be a real challenge. All we’ve come up with so far is Cloudkicker.
Let me know what you think.
Love,
Mom?
That La Kid 
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