Names are Skittish Things

I picked up this duck many months ago not knowing what to do with her. She didn't have a name until today.

Names are interesting things. A name can convey so many things. A poorly chosen name could be disastrous. As a young woman I had all sorts of fancy names for my future children. Some were mercifully discarded before I bore children, such as Cedric Cei, Alixandrier, and Bartholomew. My worst as a child nightmare would have been having a name that everyone else had (like Moose's). Luckily my parents did not fail me and I am often told that my name is pretty too. For our own children we tried to be different (we failed Commander C. on that one) but not weird, not juvenile and most importantly how will it sound when they are a judge or a general authority.

Choosing names for pets (breathing and ceramic) is a little more liberating. Ceramic ducks do not have to worry about being laughed at on the playground because of their names, but still I feel a responsibility to choose a good moniker that is meaningful.

Today I christened my knitting needle holding duck, "Danvers" in homage to one of my favorite books "Rebecca", in which, incidentally, the main character does not have a name. Hopefully my duck will not be coercing me to jump out of a window or burn down my stately home.