Yet another friend discovers that she is about to be transformed from a busy, successful executive into a grandmother. “I never saw myself in that role. I love business talk, stimulating conversations and keeping up to date with recent trends. Can you see me reciting nursery rhymes?”
“But you can’t stop what is already in progress,”‘ I tell her. “You can disapprove all you want to but it won’t change a thing. This baby is getting ready to join your family.”
“It’s going to be a boy!”, her son announces. Friends consider possible names for him.
Every generation has its favorite baby names. We can guess the time of a person’s birth by his first name. There will always be standard standby names like William, Robert and Michael. The generation following those names wanted something different, and became partial to masculine and rugged names such as Rock, Brett and Clay. But how many men named “Chip” do you know right now? It simply isn’t a 21st century name. In 2011, new babies sport names like Aiden, Tyler and Madison.
Now comes the group of the future: what names will they choose to represent their generation?
When the child is born my friend asks her son the new baby’s name. “Sol”, he says.
“Sol? You named your son Sol?”
The new father explains. “Our ancestors had a difficult and terrible life until they were free to come to America. Once they were here it was a constant struggle to overcome the challenges of culture, language and prejudice. I admire their struggle and their strength. I am proud to name my son after his great-grandfather, who made a new life here for himself and his family. Yes, his name is Sol and he will be proud to bear the name of a brave and heroic man.
My friend was embarrassed by her original disapproving tone. “I really admire your thoughtfulness in selecting that name. Choosing it goes far beyond what is popular today. Your reasons for choosing this name are more important than considering what is hip, stylish or current. The name has ‘soul.”‘
“So, Sol it will be!” ”
And also, being a grandmother is so much better than I ever could have imagined it would be,” she confesses.
MorristownMemos 
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