Unlike most parents, my parents did not have a name for me when I was born. Being a child of the 80’s, like most parents my parents did not know if I was going to be male or female until the day I was born. I was born a twin, my twin sister sadly passed away moments after birth due to Twin to Twin transfusion syndrome and I was the surviving twin. My parents had tried for a child for a long time before I was born, my mother’s younger sister had already had two children and my mother was scared she would never conceive. I was a blessed miracle. Extended family is extremely important in my family. My family comes from a line of strong German, Norwegian and Native American roots. Family is everything to us. The day I was born the hospital room was filled with family and close family friends. It took almost a day and a half to finally name me. I was named after my parenteral grandfather, Carey. Growing up my father, Jerold (Jerry), was quite fond of his grandfather. To honor him I was given his name to live on. Because I was female, the spelling of my name was changed to Kari. My parents chose the spelling due to the fact that the spelling came of Norwegian heritage and meant, “Princess or from royalty” which fit well with my maiden last name of King. My great grandfather felt so blessed to have me named after him. Even though he had quite a few grandchildren, we always had a very strong and special bond while I was growing up.
My middle name also came from a great grandparent. My parents chose my great maternal grandmother Rose to honor. My grandfather’s mother, Rose, had died way before my time and I sadly never had the chance to meet her. My grandfather has often told me stories about her though and how I remind him of his mother. She too was a surviving twin and she too had a lot of similarities with me such as a hearing loss and eyes that change color by our mood. Rose also had the same kind natured heart as me and simple easy going personality.
I feel extremely blessed to be named after relatives and to have been given the chance to help these loved ones live on through me. When it came time to have children of my own my girls were given middle names with special family meaning. My oldest adopted my last name of Rose and my youngest has the middle name Rae, in honor of my twin, Teri Rae and also her father, Raymond.
Credits:
Pink Reptile Designs: Awesome-Sauce
Little Butterfly Wings: Grandma's Garden, After The Rain
Kim Jensen: Recyled Newspaper Alpha
Heather Joyce: The Megan
Two Tiny Turtles: This Journey Called Life 8
