Danger is my middle name

 I promised you all that I would blog about what I really think of my new grandson Wesley's middle name, "Danger." Well, here it is!

For starters, I bought this onesie for little Wesley Danger and put it on him right before his parents picked him up to surprise them. I think the whole thing is pretty funny. (I also now know you can find just about anything on Amazon!)

Now don't get me wrong. I think "Daniel" would have been an awesome middle name, after the brave Old Testament prophet (remember him in the lions' den?). "Mark" would have been a great middle name too, after his dad, Caleb Mark, and Grandpa, David Mark. Mark is also my favorite gospel, because it is action-packed. "Wesley Dean" would have sounded cool, almost as cool as James Dean.

"Danger is my middle name" became a pop culture phrase after the 1997 hilarious movie "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." That movie was one of Aunt Jenny Doty's favorites, and my kids remember watching it when they had sleepovers at her house. So maybe it was that, or something else, that gave Caleb the idea to give his son the middle name "Danger." 

Unlike Blake Shelton, who sings "You name the babies, I name the dogs," Caleb and June had a different arrangement. June named their first child, a girl, Rose Elizabeth, after her favorite saint and her own middle name. (Caleb completely agreed, because serendipitiously Great-grandma Epp is also Rose, and my middle name is also Elizabeth). But June had named her dog, Lily, before she ever met Caleb. So Caleb was given the lead on the task of naming the coming man child. And he thought actually giving his kid the middle name "Danger" would be fun. 

June, as you might imagine, was a little reluctant. However, she did something that I think was quite prescient. She told me she thought about when Wesley was older, maybe six or so. Maybe he and his daddy would go fishing, or something. And at some point, the conversation would inevitably happen. "You know, son, I wanted 'Danger' to be your middle name. But your Mama said 'NO'." And little Wesley would go running to his mama and demand why she refused the coolest middle name EVER. So she let Caleb have his way. 

My husband, who we call "Silly Grandpa," is pretty sure Wesley will become a wrestler like his Daddy and go by the name Danger Franklin. And that may be true, because he already calls him Danger more than Wesley. 

Caleb said he just wanted to have a little fun with his son's name. I am glad he and June are making decisions together, and I imagine Wesley Danger will have something to talk about for the rest of his life!