Last week I visited family. While one of my best friends was talking to me, she said my name. My nephew, who’s 6, quickly corrected her. He informed her that she was saying my name wrong and proceeded to correct her.
“MEGhan. Not MAYgen,” he repeated.
My friend played along and tried to say my name correctly but each time she started talking to me again, he would pipe up that she was saying it wrong. This made me smile.
Eleven years ago, I had the exact same conversation with my husband’s brother, Mike (that says something about my maturity at the time, huh?).
“It’s MEGhan. MEG. Not MAYgen,” I would say over and over again.
“Right, that’s what I said,” he would counter.
As much as he tried, “Meghan” just wasn’t happening.
“I’m just gonna call you Red. It works,” he said, pointing at my strawberry blonde hair.
And thus, Red was born. Many people at the time didn’t know me as anything other than Red. I was introduced as Red and answered to Red. I never thought twice about it.
When Mike passed away suddenly, being known as Red faded. It became a fondness that I looked back on and a memory that I would never forget. I still treasure the nickname because it represents a time in my life when I was fearless and free. It is a moment in time that I have captured and that reminds me to be me.
I told my husband during our family visit that I wanted to start a blog to discuss my journey but couldn’t decide on a name; an identity. I tossed around a few ideas, all of which had “Red” in it. My husband didn’t even hesitate.
“Red Phoenix. You are going to rise up and beat this. This is you.” He said as we drove. I smiled.
It was perfect.
Just as Red holds special meaning to me from a decade ago, so will Phoenix in time. It represents the person that I am now and the person that I will be.
I will rise up from this.
I will conquer this.
I am Red Phoenix.
You are simply amazing!!!
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LOVE THIS! thinking about you all the time MEG!
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LOVE this Meg! And LOVE you! You WILL RISE against this!
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Beautifully written. I love that you took the time to write about why you chose the name. And it’s just so perfect! By the end of this you will be made new. We’re all here to encourage you along the way!
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You are going to not only rise up but you are going to inspire and lift up others too! Love you and you are at the top of my prayer list!!!
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You made me cry again. I knew you as Red because of Michael and thank you for sharing and keeping his memory alive.
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3 am in Oslo, 11 December, going for my second chemo in a few hours. Started to read your blog from the start. You are such an inspiration. Love this post about the name. I think I will write a post about my choice of blogname!
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I can’t wait to hear the background of your blog name too!! Good luck today!
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