what's in a name?

I've been transitioning to using my full first name of Amalia, instead of the nickname that ends in a Y and starts with the first 2 letters of my real name.  Maybe its a bit odd, that it's taken me this long to embrace my Amaliaousity.  Amy isn't my name, nor is it an nickname given to me by anyone who is related to me.  In fact, if it wasn't for 4th grade, I would be "Tere". My middle name was Teresa when I was born.  Tere is what my family called me, and in school I used Tere Parra until 4th grade.  We moved 2000 miles across country from New Mexico to the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  I'm 9 years old and walk into a classroom, and the first interactions with my new teacher and class were her telling me "we have 2 Terri's and 3 Teresa's, can we call you Amy?"  This question is much like when on the phone you hear "Can you hold please?"  it seems acceptable, but is it really?  and for how long?  And since I had just moved, started a new school, there was no one but family calling me Tere anymore.  And I'm 9, what do I know?

The more I tell the story of how I got "Amy", the less I like the name.

My other memory of 4th grade is being introduced as bilingual, and feeling like a zoo animal, and being asked by kids to "say something in Spanish".  I hated this, it was tough enough to be the new kid, but as a kid just wanting to fit in, I felt like I was the monkey being asked to dance for their entertainment.  When asked to "say something in Spanish", I would respond "algo", to which I would hear, "ooh, what does that mean?", and the answer I would give is "algo" is "something" in Spanish.  I accept that it's possible that the kids were  interested in Spanish, but it was never a "teach me to say... " always a "say something in Spanish"...

Sorry for getting sidetracked, but it's related...

So back to to Amy topic.... Since for so long, I've been Amy, I know that many will continue to use it, and what other people call me is their choice, but I'm choosing to not propagate the nickname that just feels very blah to me.  11 years ago, I started using "A to Z" as a moniker, since my first name starts with an A and my last name ends in a Z.  "A to Z" feels like me even though I've only had the last name that ends in Z for less than a quarter of my life.  So I added the Fun, to make it Fun from A to Z, cause who wouldn't want more fun in life?

I may have said it before, but George Clooney had a great line in Inside the Actor's Studio... "great things come from light happy places" as a reason that he jokes around on set.  So in all seriousness, you can call me anything you wish, cause if you are calling me something, I'm honored that in the hustle and bustle of life you took time to interact with me. 

And for George, my lighter funnier version is "you can call me anything you like, but don't call me late for dinner"...

So this brings me to another name story... When I was about 15, my younger cousin were very  persistent in saying "Amy, Amy, Amy, Amy..."  This lead to my re-name myself... Amy can be repeated over and over very easily, so I thought I need a name that they can't repeat so fast, so I told my cousin's that they were to start calling me "chicken face", it was perfect, they would call me "chicken face" then start laughing and forget what they wanted in the first place, and they would laugh and feel a special connection to me, and isn't being connected to others what many people are looking for in life?

Ten Eleven Twelve! Number, order and humor!

Happy eleventh of October in 2012.

I love numbers, order and humor - and some things we get honestly.

Yesterday my Dad celebrated the 71st anniversary of his birth. Always good to acknowledge the numbers in order to maintain your sense of humor.  

My Dad's mom was one of my first role models for aging, humor and creativity.  She had a sense of humanity that I appreciated as a child.  I always felt like she saw me as a whole person even though the number of my years was less.  I love this photo of Abuela Marta with my dad, when he was very young, very blonde, with just a little Dennis the Menace look about him!

A recent email from a friend included: "I love that you see and respect his amazing personhood even though he's just five." Wow, without even knowing my Abuela, she paid me the greatest compliment, in letting me know I am carrying on her trait of connecting with people young and old with a respect of their wholeness.  

One of my favorite Abuela Marta memories is account of how she lost her good sewing scissors only to find them later in her refrigerator... 

Happy Birthday Dad!

Goals - time to stop blocking them

Fall is sneaking up on us, with promises of a new year. 
My thought turn to goals, dreams and aspirations. 

Goals - I should be an expert on this!
Why not, I've spent time in goals, I've blocked them, dove on them, let them in (disappointingly) but rarely made them.  I'm talking sports of course, favoring defensive positions in field hockey, indoor field hockey, camogie, and ice hockey where I really was protecting the goal.

In sports, art and life, I blend a certain amount of skill, single-minded focus, full field awareness, practice, with a smidgen of reckless abandon, love of the game and plain old joy!

Here I am with the Washington Wolves, March 2012.  

I wish the team a fabulous 2012-2013 season. 

With certain sadness, I stopped playing the beautiful game of ice hockey goalie, which is a really different game than just ice hockey!  The experiences and memories, I keep forever.  The garage full of sweaty gear spread out to dry, yeah that part I don't miss! Funny that the game of my life, was very lopsided - 10-1 against a team from Montreal.  We were so overmatched and mesmerized by their skill.  I swear there must have been over 70 shots on goal that day! Our team scored the only goal against them that tournament.

Sometimes the score says you lose, but inside you know you won!

Getting Better with Age, AMDG

My birthday month has started - birthdays are like baseball, they don't always follow time the way you would expect.  The birthday month (ok, I admit this is my own invention - but it's a good one)  Ok, the birthday month begins one month prior to my actual birthday and ends one month after.  So yes, the birthday month is really 2 months long, and in my case spans September, October and November.  So this is my "new year" and I turn my thoughts inward.  Interestingly enough, I saw a little old lady today who had just a smidge of resemblance to my Abuela Marta, my paternal grandmother, sewing teacher, and one of my creative mentors.  When this stranger gave me a smile today that had my Abuela's playful humor and a sparkle in her eye, it gave me joy to know Abuela sent me smile-mail from heaven.

In Tempe, Arizona I found this beautifully aged copper post cover at the aisle side of  the pew at Old St. Mary's Church.  I loved that it was worn, wrinkled and tarnished.  There is no way that new copper can compete with the beauty of this aged metal.   The church is a national historic landmark built in 1903.  It's not a traditional parish, it's associated with Arizona State University as the "All Saints Catholic Newman Center Mission".

Interesting snippet heard from our local priest ... sometimes when we think to ourselves "wow, that was lucky", that those opportunities could be free gift of grace from God. 

I've always loved being lucky! 

Personally, I love my luck even more now thinking that those lucky times were gifts of grace from God. Padre also elaborated that those gifts aren't shared willy-nilly as he spoke of the need to do good works along with having good faith.  I'm considering it a good work to put to this out to the blog-sphere, that this is part of who I am. 

As a human, I have many parts and it's a balance since they are all important parts of me - artist, worker, leader, wife, daughter, sister, stepmother, friend to humans and animals, humanitarian, god-loving-atarian, fun finder, and maybe philosophizer too!  When I was younger I walked past these 4 letters "AMDG" everyday - at least twice to-and-from classes.    And I think that God would be pleased to read that when I create art, I may not always think or say that I am doing it for God, but that in my quiet stillness of stitching thread through fabric, I feel closer to those who came before me and to the Creator, the great I am.  I live my life AMDG, I make art AMDG!  I was lucky enough to be Jesuit educated, other trained by SJ's know exactly what AMDG means.  "For the Greater Glory of God."

In a world filled with people, some with different faiths, some without and others struggling, I find myself not sharing about my faith, because I think that's separate from x, y, or z activity that we share, or that it will offend or exclude.  But I can't honestly say that my faith can be separated from the other parts of who I am and for me to share my thoughts on life without acknowledging my simple faith would be offending myself and excluding myself.

My favorite prayer is one of faithful surrender "not my will, but Your Will", I have a comfortable relationship with God.  I say He reads my Facebook posts, so why wouldn't He also read my blogposts?  The "Big G" and I are close that way.   So on this first day of my "birthday month" special thanks and love to those who created me, Mom, Dad and the big G!

Here's some great parting thoughts from St Iggie and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (both of which I think would agree that faith is so intrinsic we can't separate it from the day to day parts of who we are).  Mother Teresa share the name Teresa and an abundance of names. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, "Blessed" because she was beatification Oct. 19, 2003 (only 4 day after my birthday.  She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and simply Mother Teresa.)

signing out with my big name...
AMALIA TERESA PARRA MORUSIEWICZ


"By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus."
―  Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully.
As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go.
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

Love is shown more in deeds than in words.
― St. Ignatius of Loyola

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
―  Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta