What's in a name?

I'd like to share a little of how my new puppy came to be called "Dynasty's No Matter What." Names are really important to me, probably because I've spent most of my life trying to hang on to the second "n" in my name. It's such a joke in my circle of friends that I'm usually introduced as "this is Dianne with two n's" just to humiliate me. LOL Anyway, here's the story:

Many years ago I heard a fellow speak with a powerful story. He had killed someone as the result of driving drunk. While he fully expected (and welcomed) prison, the case was thrown out on a technicality he did not initiate. Overwhelmed with guilt and remorse, he made several suicide attempts. Eventually he came to face the fact that while he could never right this wrong, he could still make the rest of his life count for something. First he made a commitment to stop drinking. Then he sat down and made a list of all the things that might send him back-losing his job, having his wife leave, never being reconciled to his kids who could not forgive him, until he had written down all his fears. Then he wrote across the top of the page "I won't drink, no matter what." And he ended his list with a commitment to tell his story any time, any place he was asked in hopes of helping even one person not make the same mistake. Thirty years later he's still living his "no matter what" philosophy.

I was so impressed listening to how much he had done with his life (and unimpressed with how little I had done with my own at the time). I went home, thought it over, and realized I needed a few "no matter what's" in my life too (don't we all?) so I made my own list. I've added many new "no matter what's" since my original list. I have "no matter what's" about how I set priorities and how I act at work or home. For ex. "I don't get to be rude to you at work, even if you're rude to me, no matter what." There's "no matter what's" in friendships-"I don't break your confidences even if you break mine, no matter what." There's "no matter what's" in pet ownership-when we adopt a pet, it's for life, "no matter what." I have "no matter what's" in finances-I tithe every pay day to something charitable "no matter what." The day before I got married my best friend, Colleen (happily married for 30 years) said to me "promise me you'll always sleep in your own bed-"no matter what." (sickness-yes, anger-no) And I've always done that. Maybe I was "hugging the edge" a few times or had icicles growing on my face LOL but the body was in the bed "no matter what." Ron and I have adopted many "no matter what's" in our marriage too-our commitment to rescue, to each other, and to our family and friends.

If you've never thought about your own "no matter what's", it's a very thought provoking topic. I always notice the phrase when someone uses it because it tells me a lot about who they are. So what better way to honor my new puppy than by giving her a name that changed my life-welcome "Dynasty's No Matter What" a.k.a. "Mattie."