What's In a Name...

So in real life, things are still about the same.  Every day is a whirl of diapers, rocking, learning to do things with one hand, and every time I sit down or have a moment I can't seem to get myself to do anything actually productive.  It's just kind of a mess up in my head.  I also can't believe that it's been almost a month of this!  Anywho... before I forget, I wanted to write down our reasons for little lady Pritzker's name.  Jewish folks name their children after those who have departed this earth.  Here are the wonderful people who our little girl will never meet.  We'll do our best to teach her about them and more importantly instill their lessons and values.

Lilah
There are two "L"'s in this little girl's name and they stand for the parents of my father, Lev and Lyubov.

 Lyubov was one incredible woman who really truly left me a legacy of cooking and warmth.  She was a woman who was never ever thin physically, but she was as generous with her love and attention as she was with her portions in the kitchen.  She was incredibly patient and kind and this served her well in her career as a math teacher in the Soviet Union.  She would never scream or raise her voice, she'd simply sit next to you and pet your arm and ask you to try again.  She taught me algebra, geometry, and most importantly how love is translated into cooking.  She is the biggest reason that I show my love for others through dinners and meals.  She taught me that frying a pirozhok in oil is 100 times better than baking, and if you're going to do it... do it right.  Doing it right often meant a full day's work in the kitchen... but watching her family scarf down a meal was always her favorite thing.  She also taught me to reward myself with chocolate was a perfectly acceptable form of self-respect.  :)

 Lev was my grandfather.  He was born in 1909 and passed away in 2013.  One hundred and three years on the planet.  He was the definition of tenacious.  He believed in things with all of his heart and stuck to his guns.  This isn't always a great thing... especially when you do this with things like Communism... but nevertheless he was able to admit fault at the end of his life before it was too late, and that is a lesson that I definitely could integrate into my life.  Grandpa was a man of discipline and habit.  He walked long distances each and every day as long as he could (which was well into his 90's) and lived on his own until he was 100.  He loved ice cream.  He was an adventurous man who climbed mountains and recalled skiing with such a passion it brought tears to his eyes.

Jane

Jeka aka Jane was Yan's grandmother.  She passed away this past year.  I didn't know her incredibly well since Yan and I had somewhat of a whirlwind relationship... but the woman that I was lucky enough to get to know was wonderful.  She also loved to feed the ones she loved.  Every time we went over to their home I knew that I was going to get fed.. and fed well.  She learned later in her life to stick up for herself and her beliefs, and told me multiple times that I should do the same and not make mistakes due to lack of self- confidence.  This isn't usually an issue for me, but I really appreciated the lesson nonetheless.  She had a great sense of humor and was very well read and cultured.  She quoted poetry and literature often.  She baked.  Jane was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and the most incredible thing to me was how she handled it.  She made sure to tell everyone she loved how she felt.  She made sure to have family gatherings and say toasts to everyone so that nothing was left unsaid.  She faced the end of her life with such bravery and honesty... and that is such an incredibly rare thing to see.

Our little girl has a lot to live up to with these incredible people as namesakes.