Makepeace

My nostalgia for Texas has recently turned into obsession. Cowboy boots suddenly match everything. I consider any food not covered in queso to be inadequate. Any beer that isn’t Shiner might as well be cat pee. And my MP3 (yes, I’m the only person on the planet who doesn’t have an iPod) is permanently set to play the only country music I have: the Dixie Chicks.

The four Dixie Chicks CDs have been on shuffle for the past few days. Though their music isn’t new, it has really been speaking to me – in that way that a song you’ve heard 100 times before suddenly sounds different. In an earlier post, I wrote about how they inspired me to dream of Wide Open Spaces. Today, they gave me hope for the future.

A few days ago, I shared with a coworker that I wanted to give my future, hypothetical daughter Makepeace as a middle name. This spread through the office like wildfire, as each person made jokes about it. This is the response I generally get from people when I share this little piece of information. But, I stick by the name.

I want my children –  all children – to make peace. To find happiness. To love freely. To live fearlessly.

Today, on one of my daily bus rides, the Dixie Chicks put this desire to music:

I hope
For love, joy and laughter
I hope
You’ll have more than you’ll ever need
I hope
You’ll have more happy ever afters
I hope
And you can all live more fearlessly
And you can lose all your pain and misery
I hope, I hope

A name that brings with it hopes for a life of peace, happiness, love, freedom, courage. What better gift could I give my child?