A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

Surnames

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

This is a frequently referenced part of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, and one of my favorite, in which Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo is from her rival's house of Montague, that is, that he is named "Montague." The reference is often used to imply that the names of things do not affect what they really are. We know that each surname is hereditary and common to all family members. Because I have such an interest in family history, I know that a surname gives you a sense of identity and helps you discover who you are and where you came from.

There are many online sites that can help you to find information about your family name, but I am going to use the Ancestry.com surname finder to research my family names because of the many resources available for review. http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/ 

Firth

English and Scottish: topographic name from Old English (ge)fyrhþe ‘woodland’ or ‘scrubland on the edge of a forest’.Scottish: habitational name from Firth in Orkney.Welsh: topographic name from Welsh ffrith, ffridd ‘barren land’, ‘mountain pasture’ (a borrowing of the Old English word mentioned in 1).Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press

I really love this definition, especially "mountain pasture." My family has lived in the same area of Utah in the foothills of the Wasatch Front, farming and raising sheep for 4 generations. It thrills me to have this connection to those who have gone before.
An interesting resource available on this site is the average life expectancy for Firth's chart.

Children of Robert Jackson and Frances Young Firth

The green line on the chart shows that we have a little longer life expectancy than the general public. This chart information has been proven by my grandfather and his siblings whose average death age of 8 children is 86.

Speirs

Scottish and northern Irish:This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the spier,' i.e. watchman; v. Scorer. The final 's' in Speirs is genitive. 

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Using census records, Ancestry has been able to track the distribution of surnames in the United States, England and Wales, and Scotland. You can see how families have moved over years by checking information from each census year. I am displaying the chart from the 1851 census of Scotland which was just before my husband's family emigrated to the United States.

George Speirs

Lynn's Speirs family originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. We have been there and really felt a connection in the people, the land, and the churches. There are 124 Speirs living in Ayrshire today according to Ancestry and we hope someday to meet some of them. 

There is more information available on the Ancestry.com surname site. Take some time and learn more of your surname.

Long Time Gone

On October 26, 2015 I had Rotator Cuff surgery at the Davis Surgical Center. I had been hurting for about 4 months but I thought it was something I just had to live with so I went to the Orthopedic doctor expecting a steriod shot or a pep talk about living with the pain.

I had occasional pain for about two years but 4 months ago I was leading the music in Sacrament Meeting and heard a pop and my right arm dropped about 6 inches.  I quickly lifted my left arm and continued. When I went back down to sit with Lynn he teased me about changing hands, but I knew no one really watches the chorister and didn't think much about it. My kids were horrified that I told people about my chorister injury.

The doctor I was sent to seemed to be a teenager, Dr Donigan. After checking my MRI he said  I needed surgery immediately. It was a Friday, and he hoped I could do it on Monday! It took a lot to schedule our life for the next little while, substitutes for the Library and Temple, etc. bur we made it work.

Andrea and Lynn prepping for surgery

I had a nerve block so I couldn't feel or move my arm for 2 days. It was the weirdest feeling ever to see your arm, and feel like you are moving it, but nothing happens. I was able to come home right after the surgery due to modern medical advances. 

I think the Lord sends us trials to gain experience, but he also gives us gifts and blessings to get us through. I do have the tendency to get grumpy and depressed when I feel helpless and for the first two weeks I was unable to do anything by myself! The pain associated with the surgery was nothing compared to my anger at myself for being useless. I teared up regularly in my frustration. I kept trying to do things I wasn't ready for and it usually caused more pain.

The gifts and blessings of the Lord were much more than I deserve. People kept bringing us food for meals for 2 weeks! After a week, I told Eve Carlsruh, my Relief Society President, that we didn't it anymore and she laughed when she told me she hadn't sent anyone to feed us ( do I live in the best ward or what!)

Lynn was amazing and wanted to do everything he could. I felt sorry for him for being stuck with me but his mantra was "how would you handle it if it were me?" What do people do when then don't have soul mates like mine? My love for him grows and grows. He even cut my meat and helped feed me. I know it was wearing on him because October to Decembers are always the hardest at work for him.

Lynn "watching" television

I have a pretty high pain tolerance and I seem to heal pretty quickly, or so my Physical Therapist says, and my parents and cute daughters are always willing to pitch in when things get crazy and were great blessings, so the time (six weeks) did finally come so that I could take off the dreaded sling I was forced to wear. 

First Day without the sling

So, it took me quite a while to be able to get back at the computer, but all is well now and I feel a little stronger, a little more thankful, and a little more determined to take on these trials that teach us how to progress and be a little more like the Savior.