The Name Game

Thanks to everyone who suggested names. A lot of them I had thought of, but there were a few that I hadn't.

So here is the story:

I had decided on a name a long time ago but Clay didn't like it, refused to consider it. He didn't like anything else I suggested either. So I decided that I would call the baby my name until he came up with something.

Clay went with us on Dakotah's field trip to Petland. The whole time I just thought it was great that he came, great that he was taking time to be with Dakotah. Later that night, he let me know that he wanted to get salt water fish.

"Aren't they beautiful? They look so nice. I've always wanted them, so I think we should get them."

Uh, what?

The whole time at Petland he was staring at fish and deciding to get them! Curse the trip to Petland!

So we discussed it.

Me: It's a waste of money.

Him: We could use some of our tax refund.

Me: What about Cuddles? You are hurting her feelings by wanting to get another pet.

Him: She'll enjoy looking at them, too.

Me: They are hard to take care of. They will die. It will be a waste of money.

Him: I read that they do better in a larger tank and there are new filtration systems that make it easier...and on and on he goes.

The thing about Clay is when he decides something he gets very stubborn about it and will get his way. Most of the time he doesn't care and I make the decisions because he doesn't care but when he does care he will stand firm and unmovable. So at the same time he was determined to get fish, he also was against my baby name choice.

A huge warning sign that he is really into something is when he does research about it. So all the next day he kept telling me things that he had read. That night we had a date. Any guesses as to where Clay wanted to go? To Petco to check out their assortment of fish. We had a big argument because he wasn't listening to my opinion and only had a one track mind and wouldn't get the stupid fish out of his head!! So we ended our date early, he went to bed, and I stayed up late playing MarioKart (it's a great way to get out frustrations, hitting the other players).

The next day was Sunday. We still weren't speaking. At church our Bishop said in his testimony that we shouldn't waste our time do things we know are wrong. After sacrament meeting I suggested we were wasting time being mad at each other. At home we talked and became happy with each other again. I thought he realized the error of getting fish and that that would be the end of it.

A couple hours later he said, "I'm getting the fish. But I promise to buy things a piece at a time."

I said, "If you're getting the stupid fish, then I get the name I want for the baby."

At that, my friends, is how we compromised. I also made sure he understood that I was in NO WAY responsible for the fish. I will not clean them or feed them. If one dies it will float until he comes home to take care of it. They are NOT my fish.

So the official name of our baby is Colby Clay Hayes. There is a Colby, Kansas. It's big enough that they have a community college. I think it is so cute and fits well with the other names in our family. 7 weeks to go!