Namesake

On the morning after Alden was born, we commented to one of the nurses that we were amazed at how peaceful our new baby seemed. Despite the ordeal he had just been through, he had barely fussed and seemed content to sit in our arms and watch the world he had just entered. We guessed that perhaps this was the “honeymoon period” we had heard about and that Alden’s true temperament would come out later on. However, the nurse told us that in her opinion, babies’ personalities are evident right away and that based on his behavior at 12 hours old, she thought Alden was likely to be an easy, sweet baby. For the most part, this has been the case and we have felt very fortunate for it.
In thinking about how Alden came to be who he is, I often say (partly joking, partly in earnest) that we owe his mellow, easy, and ever-patient personality to Carl – surely he did not get these traits from me. But today, I’d like to give some of the credit to my side of the family, and specifically, to Alden’s namesake – Lindsay. Today would have been Lindsay’s 39th birthday, which is hard to believe and leaves my family wondering what she would have been doing if she were still with us.
One thing is certain though – Lindsay would have been a wonderful aunt. She had all the delightful characteristics that we love so much about Alden: she was calm, thoughtful, inquisitive, intelligent, funny, loving, and never one to complain. Although Alden won’t get to meet Lindsay in this lifetime and together compare the blue of their eyes, he will surely know all about her through the stories and memories we will share with him. And as he buries his face into yet another book (granted, for the moment, trying to eat it), we won’t credit only Carl – Lindsay, too, loved to read.