about a name.

you arrived just after two in the morning, and your name revealed itself in the dozen hours after. other, bolder considerations didn't spark. you needed a name that feels like you do: elegant and strong, peaceful and soft.

francis lafayette.

a name fit for our dove.

we love nodding to my grandmothers' fathers, weaving you high into our family tree. we love drawing on my southern roots. my french roots, too. we love the way it feels to breathe them, the way they look written in script, the way they might look on a diploma or a wedding invitation, the way they might sound in advance of a blind date. we love their meaning: frenchman and faith. we love the echo of that one street in new york city. we love connecting you to others called francis who've carried the name so well: fitzgerald and sinatra and the patron saint of writers. we love that you share a namesake with my own dear papa, like an invisible kite string, connecting you to him.