I Had No Idea
My mom brought up the delicate subject of baby names today. She went on to tell me that you have to consider the possible nicknames as well as the name itself. I refrained from sharing that any discussion of any possible names at our house involves a careful breakdown of every permutation (Nadia? Nope, could easily become stoonadia, who I guess would be from Strongbadia. Hannah? Nope, could be Hannah Tannuh, like LaFawnduh from Napoleon Dynamite, etc. etc.). She went on to say that had she known I would choose to be called Liz, she would have reconsidered naming me Elizabeth, since it was that name she liked, not Liz, or any other shortened version of that longer name I don't like. Oh. That explains why they still, after almost 20 years of being Liz, don't call me Liz.

But I like being LIz. It suits me. It's to the point. It only has 1 vowel. It only has one syllable. It's easy to pronounce and it fits easily in those little bubble forms at the DMV. It's my name, I chose it.

Mom asked about the last name (Tan) and only paused for a second when she realized it wouldn't be our name. She then pointed out that almost every first name goes with Tan, which would make it easier. All very sweet, she's going to be a terrific Grandma. All we have to do now is introduce a nice sperm to my egg and we're home-free!