The Friday after receiving my referral, Iris (agency director) called asking if I wanted to officially name the baby since she did not have a birth certificate yet. I did not feel prepared to name the baby, but I thought if I did, the act of doing that would make her “more” mine. Over the past year, during the whole adoption process, I had been calling my baby-to-be Alice, after my mother. When it came right down to it, I wasn’t sure Alice was the right name. It was such an old fashion name. Her given middle name was Maricela and I really liked that. So, I decided on Maricela Alice. My first parental decision was done and I requested the name Maricela Alice.
Over the weekend, I had trouble with the name; I couldn’t remember it! Was it Mariella? Maribella? Mirabella? Marisol? Marsala? I felt like I had given my child this complicated name. I went to a social event sponsored by the group After You Adopt and it seemed as if all the children had short, simple, strong American names – Joe, Mary, John. Had I messed up on my first parental decision?
For a while, I was thinking I’d call her Mari Alice, but then my friend’s husband said it reminded him of the Aurora Borealis. I needed to think of those nick names or what her initials might spell out. I remembered my mom trying out possible names for my sister’s children by yelling them to see how they sounded when calling for a child. .
It so happened that in Guatemala, they mixed up the baby’s name on the birth certificate. They thought I made a mistake and really wanted Alice as the first name. She was legally Alice Maricela. I was told I could change her name here in the States after the adoption. Seriously? How could I change her name? She was named after my mother! I took it as a sign from mom – she wanted that baby named after her! I felt mom must be in Guatemala looking over my baby and she wanted that child to be named after her. It was a blessing from mom.
I wasn’t sure if I would call her Alice, Ali, Maricela or Mari. I ended up calling her Alice. She is such an Alice. She reminds me of my mother in so many ways, every day!
Finding Abilities 