Help Me Rename My Daughter

I need help in renaming College Girl.  You know she has graduated.  Yipee!  So calling her College Girl just does not seem right.  And you know I do not use real names on here to protect the innocent, namely my family.  Now I am at a lost for her new 'handle'.  Maybe you can help me out.  In doing so I am going to share a bit about her and her upbringing.  You know that means a story line through books too.  I never stop reading.

So we start at the beginning.  CG (for we do not know her new name) was born 3 months early.  Yes, she was a Preemie.  There was so much I did not know.  What risks she was facing.  What health concerns she may have in life.  How and if she would grow.  And what was all these tubes attached to her were for.  It was a very scary time of life.  Yes, she did grow....slowly.  She did have some health concerns but none were long lasting. Thank God!  And she gave me a life time of happiness to say the least.  I wish I had read the book Preemie by Kasey Mathews at that time.  It is her memoir of the tenacious struggle for her baby as well as the ride they were on through out her life.  I know that like Kasey I did not understand why my girl was in such a rush to get here.  But she too has accomplished so much in her time and I know there are amazing things still to come.

From there we moved on to the let's grow up stage of life.  It was not one of ribbons and lace but more of books and imagination.  CG enjoyed being an only child and shared our love of reading.  We would spend evenings curled up with a book and imagine the worlds within.  The we took in a friend and her 3 sons.  Life was a lil different having to look at things from a boys side.  Of course we adjusted.  My friend helped me with CG just as much.  She too had to learn to look at things from a different viewpoint.  I would have loved to share Darlene Brock's book Help Wanted: Moms Raising Daughters.  It is so helpful in learning all the jobs you take on.  Each section addresses how you can be the Media Director or the Sex Ed Teacher or even the In-Home Demonstrator.  There are so many things to teach your child and do so with honesty and grace.  Through it all CG grew into an amazing woman.  On to challenge College and now her next step in life.

I also have my next step in life.  The dreaded empty nest.  This is so hard for me to do.  I have always had CG here with me.  She will soon have her own home and even be taking her pets!  I love my Dear Hubby and Granny M is a blessing to be here.  But knowing that I will not have anyone to mother seems like the hardest step in life.  Growing up we learned the rhythm of life as we learned how to read with Dick and Jane.  We saw the perfect family always happy and ready to help each other.  Well now Dick and Jane can continue to guide us.  Fun Without Dick and Jane: Your Guide to a Delightful Empty Nest by Christie Mellor is a lark while imputing great wisdom.  Giving great hints on how to get back out into social circles and no that does not mean increasing your Google Friend Connect or Facebook Page.  Also just how fun it is to run away from home yourself since your not tied to it all the time.  To top it off there is good sound advice for when the empty nest all of sudden fills up with the boomerang child or holiday spillover.  I loved the camp style that carried wit and wisdom.

Now that leaves me with....well me!  I still need to think of a new title for CG.  I am not any closer.  Actually I have no idea at all.  How do you find the perfect title for you most beloved gift?  And I do feel like it should be the perfect name.  It would help if I could let go of just that.  Perfect.  I am so OCD about everything all of the time.  Needing to have my home in order, things in their right place, fulfilling people's expectations of me.  Amy Spiegel has words of comfort and harsh realities in addressing just this issue.  Letting Go of Perfect is her look at the image we each have of ourselves and our lives.  Often scared that if we do not get every detail as it should be the image will shatter.  Then we will never be able to put it all back together.  Of course we need to just that.  Shatter those thoughts of having to fit a role for everyone.  Dispel the idea of perfect and come to the realization that we are good enough already.  She knows that we are already perfect in God's eyes.  And if that is the case than who else are we trying to impress.  I, myself, am looking at taking on this new stage of life and experiencing it with gusto.  Embracing that I am a grandmother who is dumpy yet loved for myself.  Gosh what else could I really want?

Yes....your right.....I still want a new title for College Girl who is no longer a College Girl.  Help!