“Genevieve,
The strongest love of all”
Well, 30 years ago a very pregnant Shannon was wondering when she would give birth. My original due date was July 28 and that date came and went and then my birthday on August 3rd came and went, needless to say, I was not in a happy place at that moment. I was extremely uncomfortable, I had gained over 60lbs due to toxemia in the last trimester, it’s August and it’s hot/humid in Ohio and as each day goes by, I become more anxious about the prospect of giving birth for the first time. The one thing that kept me going was the sheer excitement of getting to meet this new person Larry and I created. Larry and I had decided not to find out the sex of the baby and that added to the excitement of it all. So, since we did not know if we were having a boy or a girl, we had chosen names for both. If we had had a girl her name would have been Genevieve Marie, Genevieve after this song and Marie is my middle name. Since we had picked Gabriel for a boy and both names started with a G, we sometimes referred to this little person I was growing as Baby G. And after all these years I still absolutely love this name and would have not regretted naming a little girl this.
Somehow, even though Rush & Peter Gabriel is "my thing", a couple more artists have secured a few spots in my significant life events, and today marks the second event.
Those artists are Jon & Vangelis and their very first appearance just happens to be February 19th, 1994 - our wedding day (and 2024, our 30th Anniversary) with the song Anyone Can Light A Candle.
Way back in 1994, when my girlfriend found out she was pregnant and we were expecting, you can only imagine (or possibly recall your own experience) the whirlwind of emotions that happened. Besides coming to terms that you are going to have a child and all the panic and stress that will follow along for the rest of your life, there is a small matter of agreeing on a name.
Warning: Soapbox Ahead.
I cannot for the life of me understand gender reveal parties. This obviously wasn't a thing in 1994, thank god - I would have refused even if Shannon was insistent. In all honesty, I have pretty strong contempt for anyone who feels they need to do this and I cheer when the reveal goes wrong or is spoiled - reap the whirlwind jackasses.
Sure the technology existed in 1994 to find out what you were having. But why would you? Why would you take one of the very, very few surprises in life that is by far one of the most emotional things you can experience and ruin it because you are a weak, selfish loser?
Hopefully my contempt is coming through loud and clear. I tried to quickly research whether people regretted their decision and came across this NPR article. Just know that I am now not a fan of Mrs. Karvunidis for being credited as the creator. And if you read this and are upset, I don't really care.
If I haven't said it before, thank you Shannon. Thank you for having the same exact mindset as I did so it didn't create family friction before we were even really a family!
So what makes the song Genevieve so special?
Well - when you are committed to waiting until your child is born to know what you are having, you pretty much need to have Plan A and Plan B. So Plan A was Genevieve. And it was solely due to this song. Page of Life had come out a few years earlier so it was in our listening rotation pretty frequently and this is such a beautiful song. One I would have no problem sharing with my daughter as the inspiration for her name.
But Plan A went out the window on August 9th, 1994 (tomorrow's write-up) so we had to go with Plan B.
Rest In Peace, Vangelis - 03/29/43 - 05/17/22
30th Anniversary
Our Story - Shannon's Perspective
Our Story - Larry's Perspective
Ghost of a Chance (Rush) and why?
Ghost of a Chance 