"Lilly Marie!!!!"

Have you ever noticed how wonderful it can be to hear someone say your name? I mean, think about it, as a child you knew exactly what mood your parents were in when they called you by your name. Right? You could tell whether you're in trouble, or whether your parents are sad, exhausted, happy... okay, at least that's how it was for me. I never liked it when my parents called me by my real name. Katja ALWAYS sounds harsh... no matter how much love you try to put into it.

Anyway, I have found it to be incredibly useful to have chosen a different name: Lilly -which, by the way, means "God is abundance" (I didn't know that when I picked that name... but it is incredible how I decided to take on THAT name right before I went to the States...)- sounds so much better, it literally rolls off your tongue. You can also put any emotion into it. It's pretty cool actually. Hehe ;)

Now, Lilly Marie sounds even better. It has a melody to it- especially when Pam says it. She always kinda sings it... or, well I don't really know how to describe how she says it. LOL. I guess, everytime she says it it reminds me of the moment when Linds picked my middle name. Did I tell you this story? It was sooooo funny, and to this day I still don't quite know why Lindsay decided to call me Lilly Marie. But, I think she was talking to me and I didn't really pay attention (listen to me, I am such a horrible sister!). Finally, Linds realized I didn't listen, so she called my name again and again and just added "Marie"- totally out of the blue. Well, she got my attention, that's for sure... I asked her, "Did you just call me Lilly Marie?". Linds laughed, Pam and I looked at each other - we were pretty surprised, I guess - and then the three of us agreed that I should keep Marie... so that's the story. ;)

Last night I called Linds, Jenny D and Pam. Calling Mommy was pretty nerve-wracking: my call just wouldn't go through for almost 3 AND A HALF HOURS!!!! Unbelievable, but I finally managed to call her and the moment I heard her say, "Hello!" I wanted to start crying- BUT I managed to make it through the call without sobbing. Lol. Anyway, that's not what I actually wanted to talk about. She actually said "Lilly Marie" last night. It was the first time I HEARD it in 3 looooooong months. And it kinda felt like christmas... I wish I could hear it EVERY DAY.

I am very proud to be Lilly Marie. LOL.