About ten years ago I was pregnant with my second child. After a few months we knew that a girl was expected and, like everyone else, a name had to be made up. It had to be a short, powerful, simple but not everyday name.
A nice short name
Soon my husband (then still a friend) and I found out that we would not find the name in both our families. The circle got bigger and bigger but it proved difficult to find a name that charmed us both. Lists were made and the names were deleted one by one. We already know one of them, it happens too often or doesn't sound that nice. Until I read an interview with DJ Isis. What a nice woman but, more importantly, what a nice name. The goddess of fertility from ancient Egypt. Meh, never bad, right? My partner also loved the name and when our girl was born in March 2005, her name seemed to suit her so well. Everyone happy!
Increasingly in the news
We are writing in the spring of 2014. The name Isis appears more and more in the newspaper. At first Isis is pleasantly surprised, but she soon realizes that her name has a negative connotation. She also suffers in class. Children are harsh and accuse her of ugly things. Our Isis knows flawlessly which media use the term IS and which still talk about Isis. When Lodewijk Asscher talks about Isis on television, she is furious. "How can a boss of the country do such a thing to her?"
A strange situation
Last Saturday Isis and I had a nice morning together. Shopping for the weekend and, to top it all off, buying her a new dress for a performance. We searched for quite some time in a children's clothing store, but in the end we found just the right dress. Isis had already put on her hockey uniform for the afternoon and her name is printed on the front of her sweatshirt. With big orange letters. Just when I was about to put my debit card in the slot at the store's owner, I heard:'Hey, take off that sweater really quickly!!!' The owner looked at my daughter with a look that was somewhere between horror and utter amazement. Excuse me!! My thoughts raced fast. Run away and never come back here? Then Isis didn't have her dress. “My daughter's name is Isis and we are very proud of that. We think it's a beautiful name," I heard myself say. Isis stood there with wide eyes, but luckily never gets too busy (she got that from her father). I quickly settled the bill and vowed never to get into this business again. How a-pedagogical can you be as the owner of a children's clothing store.
Today Isis received a call for vaccinations. It was only then that I noticed that her initials I.S. to be. sigh. I couldn't have known either, could I?
Who is Marie-Anne? Marie-Anne, 48 years old, is married and mother of three daughters. She has a serious cartilage problem. It all started after a skiing accident, but hereditary factors and factors that doctors still don't know much about also play a role. Every other week she blogs about her (patchwork) family, care in the Netherlands, her knee and other things that occupy her.
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