I’m going to talk about my son Jayne.
Jayne is a sometimes happy, sometimes whiny, always snuggly terror of a two-and-a-half-year-old. Basically, he’s a typical toddler. Jayne is also big. He?s tall and very dense, and people constantly think he?s older than he is. I?m giving you this detail for a reason that will make sense in a bit.
He also has a traditionally female name: Jayne. There is no difference in how it is pronounced and no, we don’t shorten it and call him Jay, or Arthur (his middle name) or Wyatt (another middle name). His name is Jayne.
He was named after Jayne Cobb, the badass mercenary on Joss Whedon’s “Firefly.” People who know the show and movie recognize it immediately and are usually in a bit of happy disbelief that he really is named after Jayne Cobb. Jayne Cobb is awesome. He’s not a good guy. He’s not exactly loyal, or kind, or tactful, but he is an awesome character with a fantastic name. Those are the responses we love to receive. People have started singing “Jayne’s Song” to us, or asked if I ever sang it to him (which I do, on a regular basis) and then of course we all break out into the first verse and chorus. No joke. The other positive reactions we get to his name are from the people who pause and then ask how we spell it, then pause again and comment, “Oh, I really like that!” with full sincerity. (Trust me, I can tell the difference.) These two responses make up th...