J

Julie

I'm not the kind of person who has to have it always be about me. I would rather blend in than stand out in most situations. I'm all for it (party, celebration, whatever) being about someone else. But today, I am arrogantly claiming my own name as a perfectly good J word. Look at this chart. It is completely ridiculous how popular the name Julie became right at the time I was born (and not before or since). There were always two or three Julies in every class as I was growing up. I work, at this very present time, with three other Julies, all more or less my age.

The only explanation I could think of was the popularity of Julie Andrews, but both Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music came out after I was born, so that was not a satisfactory explanation. I finally remembered to ask my mom one time why they had thought to name me Julie Anna. She said I was named after (or rather, they simply liked the name of) Queen Julianna of the Netherlands, but that my grandmother simply threw a fit that they would string it all together like that into one name and thus it became two names. So there you have it. Even though it is not all about me, feel free to treat me like the Queen for which I am named next time you see me. And here is my final thought on me, myself, and I: why do I look so worried in this picture when I was actually quite relaxed, having lunch with son at our wonderful local establishment The Runcible Spoon. I worry about that deep worry line forming in my forehead. Which could be a self-fulfilling prophecy, if you catch my meaning.