How to have children and to name them meaningfully .........?

     (I had a feeling that I am missing my English writing skills, as I have been confined to write in Sinhala during the last couple of years. So, I thought of writing this post in English, just to try out whether I have missed or forgotten some skills that have been accumulating during the past few decades.)

This is a story which can be considered as a joke if someone prefers.

Somewhere in the world,  lived a married couple, Julius and Juliette. They were newly married and thinking in the same lines as any other newly married people, who wanted to plan their future. The most important item in their agenda was the children. How many, how often and whether they are boys or girls, were their concerns.

As they were planning their future, Juliette got pregnant. They called it a surprise, as usual. Any woman in her first pregnancy will utter the same words! Now they had to shift, change or delete certain items in their agenda. After a lengthy discussion they agreed to name their first born, if a boy, as Peter and if the child is a girl, as Charlotte.

Time passed smoothly.

They wanted to meet a doctor for advice. The doctor examined Juliette and was very happy to declare that they will get a boy.

The child was born and the happy couple named him as Peter.

They changed certain items of their agenda and included a new item as follows:

‘Our number-two, should be a girl and we will name the child as Kate.’

Time passed. In two more years Juliette is pregnant again. They were happy and told the son Peter “You will be getting a sister very soon”

The boy was puzzled “From where?”  He asked them.

The mother told the young boy all fancy, fairy tales about how babies are coming to the  world. The boy was listening carefully and asked the mother in a surprised tone.

“How mum your tummy is big. Why is that ?”

She stopped ‘baby talk’ with that question

They met the doctor again and were surprised to hear that the new comer would be a boy.

 “That’s fate” they thought.

They  unanimously decided to name the boy as ‘Repeater’

“This name is quite appropriate, because that is what has happened.”

By saying that they tried to hide their sadness of not fulfilling their expectation..  

Now they have two boys ‘Peter’ and ‘Repeater’

After a few years Juliette is pregnant again. She is still dreaming of getting a daughter. 

This time when they went to see the doctor, he raised his eye brows and declared

“It is wonderful you are getting twins, but I am unable to predict whether they are boys or girls.”

The couple had mixed feelings

Juliette said “Hope they are a boy and a girl. It’ll be two-in-one”

The husband smiled and kept his fingers crossed.

At the end of the pregnancy period, Juliette delivered two baby girls. Anyway, her dreams were not fulfilled. She expected a boy and a girl.

The husband and wife had arguments  that lasted for several days, and still they could not come to a conclusion.

Suddenly Juliette said,

 “OK, I will name one baby girl as Kate” 

For this Julius’s response was immediate.

“If so, ..... I will name the other baby as.... Duplicate!”

The naming decisions were final.

Now they have four children Peter, Repeater, Kate and Duplicate

The twin girls were lovely and the boys were very fond of them.

The couple was more or less satisfied with four children and Julius proposed about family planning. Juliette did not respond positively for this idea.

As time passed, somehow or other, Juliette got pregnant again. This time also the babies were predicted as twins. They were to be boys. The doctor confirmed his prediction this time, using his currently  acquired bio-medical technology.

This time when the boys  were born, there were  no discussions or agreements, between the two parents  and Julius without consulting his wife, named the boys as Max and Climax.

The naming was quite meaningful and it has paved way for the wife to think twice!

Now, they have six children, born at four occasions. This includes two, ‘two-in-one’s too !

They are a happy family of eight - consisting of the two parents, Julius and Juliette, with the six children Peter, Repeater, Kate, Duplicate, Max and Climax.

The naming of children has been very appropriate and quite meaningful.

Finally, they decided “Six is enough.... No more children”