Saturday, September 22, 2007

Sunday Scribblings - My Name Is...

My grandmother called me Sugar, my dad sometimes called me the Queen of Sheba, my husband called me Sunshine. My friends call me Becky, my colleagues, Rebecca, and here in cyber space, I'm Becca (of the Byline).

All these appelations bear some truth about my essential nature. Yes, I am sweet, as my grandmother recognized. Sometimes I do feel entitled to royal treatment, though I'm generally content to spread warmth and joy into the lives of those I love. I am a bit Old World, as the ancient history of my Hebrew name would suggest, but I'm willing to sample modernity when the situation requires.

I'm also a baby boomer, I was once a stay at home mom, and I'm now an empty nester. I float somewhere in the nether world between mid-life and senior citizen.

None of these nametags tell you very much about the essential Becca - the one who's all about family and home, fairness and honesty, simple pleasures and lasting love, enjoying life and honoring your gifts. Or the Becca who was once afraid of stairs and is still afraid of spiders.

From my simple introduction, you would never know that I love the water, but can't swim, or that I've always harbored secret dreams about ballroom dancing and race car driving. That I've been drinking coffee since I was three years old, and it's my drink of choice for most any situation. Or that I'm an only child, a child of divorced parents, and wandering through the world with a very tiny, precious number of people who share my blood.

Unless you know me well, you wouldn't know how conflicted I sometimes get about my music and my writing (never good enough!). How much I worry about what will happen in the future~where will we live, will we have enough money, what will we do for health care. You wouldn't know that many mornings my eyes pop open at 4:00 am and all these worrisome thoughts invade my mind, poking and prodding, agitating me until I surrender and get up to make myself hot cocoa to soothe my pounding head.

I can now readily walk up to people, offer my hand, and say "Hi, I'm Becca. Have we met?" But I was once painfully shy, and rarely spoke unless spoken to first. I now realize the really interesting part comes after that simple introduction, where I get to know the person behind the name, and share a bit of my own essential self with another human being. That's what keeps us human, isn't it? The sharing of our stories, the offering of little bits of ourselves.

But it all starts with a name.

My name is Becca...have we met?


for more introductions, go here

Labels:

18 Comments:

Blogger Erin said...

What a great writer you are! I truly got a sense of who you are and it's very nice to "meet" you.

9/21/2007  
Blogger paris parfait said...

Such a well-written piece, Becca. And you've been drinking coffee since you were three??!!

9/22/2007  
Blogger Jo said...

Oh Becca this was just lovely. This brought tears to my eyes:
'and wandering through the world with a very tiny, precious number of people who share my blood'. So good.

9/22/2007  
Blogger JP (mom) said...

Wonderful post, Becca ... it's an honour getting to no more about you. Although it starts with a name, there's so much more than that & I love how blogging helps us articulate the many facets that comprise who we are. Peace & love, JP/deb

9/22/2007  
Blogger Kamsin said...

Nice to meet you Becca! Lovely piece. I like the idea that telling someone your name is like offering them an invitation to get to know you.

9/22/2007  
Blogger Robin said...

Hi Becca, I'm Robin, it's really great to meet you. This was a lovely glimpse into who you are. Let's grab a cup of coffee and talk some more.

9/22/2007  
Blogger GreenishLady said...

Hi, Becca, I'm so glad we did meet. I really appreciated your visit and your sweet words yesterday. They mean so much to me. Thank you.

9/22/2007  
Blogger Gill said...

What a wonderful post! I think you touched on something so profound - that we need to spend time getting to know one another, in the fast-paced world we live in, it's to easy to move on before we have really learnt to know one another. It's sad!

9/22/2007  
Blogger Michele | aka Raw Juice Girl said...

Hi Becca,

Thanks for the mesmerizing glimpse into your warm, interesting life.

You writing is magical and breathtaking...I was just pulled along, savoring each word like those cups of coffee you so adore!

Smiles,
Michele

9/22/2007  
Blogger Michele said...

P.S.

I added you to my "Favorite Writer-Related Blogs" list!

Smiles,
Michele

9/22/2007  
Blogger Crafty Green Poet said...

Excellent post, because not only does it say a lot about you but also about how we look at names and identity

9/23/2007  
Blogger Patois42 said...

Hi, Becca! I've never formally introduced myself. I've been a fan of your writing -- it is good enough, by the way -- and I intend to remain a fan!

9/23/2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Becca, yes we have met via the net!

I am Gautami!

9/23/2007  
Blogger lissa said...

Most what you have written I can related - though I don't drink coffee .

Thanks for visiting blog.

9/23/2007  
Blogger Christy Woolum said...

Hi Becca... I am IEG and we have met in blogland. Posts like this are always interesting. You have an idea about a blog person by what you read on their blog, but then it is always icing on the cake to learn other details. Thanks for sharing.

9/23/2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your posts are always so satisfying. :) You are a great, resonant writer, and I am so glad we've "met."

9/23/2007  
Blogger Odessa said...

hello becca!

its so wonderful to meet you. this is a lovely post and i find that we do have a lot of things in common. i grew up in the islands and i LOVE the water but i have yet to learn how to swim - how ironic is that?

btw, thanks for dropping by my site and your kind words. looking forward to getting to know you more! =)

9/24/2007  
Blogger Tumblewords: said...

Hi Becca. I feel as if we're friends - sharing a lot of sameness. Great post!

9/24/2007  

Post a Comment

<< Home