Dazzling Dawn

With DZ, the mother and Dazen, the daughter,
 do I  lack more?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet.” This statement has been immortalized by Shakespeare’s tragic tale of two lovers whose romance was destined to fail from the beginning. It sums up the basic struggle of the tragedy. Coming from two warring families, Romeo and Juliet fought out their love to the end. Juliet’s famous line implies the value of essence over form, the person, not the name. Some extremists use the statement to put to naught the meaning of the name, though.

Yet, the power of a name and its inherent meaning has been recognized since time immemorial. From the primitive to modern civilization, name has been associated with the person, place, event, object, or circumstances closely related to the child’s birth. Wikipedia describes the significance of names, as follows: Many names describe nations, people, and ancient history. Some describe expressions of hopes, revelations of divine purposes, and prophecies of the future. Some are part of genealogical histories, as it was common in Jewish customs to keep a family history. Sometimes names indicated certain circumstances with their birth or family line. Characteristics and traits of people were an important aspect of names in ancient Israel.

The meaning of a name was very important in bible days. Sometimes the bible itself informs the reader what a name means. Famous biblical persons such as Adam, Cain, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his 12 sons, all have the meaning of their name explicitly given in the bible. Their names tell the story of why or how they were born. However, can name influence a person’s character?

The two most influential women in my life never cease to dazzle me

I tend to agree based on experiences with our three kids. Let me start with our eldest and the only girl who is celebrating her 20th  birthday, today. Her coming was preceded by this lyrical declaration to symbolize our life’s experiences: “The darkest night was over. Dawn has come. The dawn of a bright new day.” Hence, we thought of naming her Dawn. But we found out life’s prelude was not the usual dawn that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. It was a dazzling dawn, as revealed later on in my Snapshots of Life. We were dazed. Thus we call her DAZEN DAWN.

That was 20 years ago. Thereafter, she stands true to her name, dazzling us and others no end. At less than one year old, she already attended the classes for college students. Can you guess why? If not, I will tell you later in the succeeding blogs. When she learns how to walk and talk, she enjoys going with us wherever and whenever possible.

At one instance, she joins her mother in shopping mall. Her curiosity in almost everything makes her wander away from their reach. When a sales lady notices her walking alone, the former offers her assistance in case she is gone astray. She politely declines. Instead, she requests the lady to look for her mother whom she claims the one who is lost. Subsequently, she is brought to the customer service counter to the confusion of the one in-charge. Will it be the usual page to a mother of the lost child or something like, 'Calling the lost mother, your child  is waiting for you at the counter.'

Happy birthday to our dearly beloved DAZEN DAWN PATRIARCA-LARIZA. We are proud of you. We will always be grateful to God for giving us a daughter as lovely and wonderful as you.