Shauna and Sajen

Shauna taught at my school for a few semesters and then went on to a position in another school.  She is one of the best teachers I have known - committed, fun, caring, thoughtful, cool and smart.  That smile you see on her face is the one we came to know and love in the staff room, halls, teachers' workroom and anywhere else she happened to be.  I hadn't seen her for quite some time, but on Friday I was in the Starbucks near my school.  The lattes are second rate, but it was the most convenient spot that day for a quick lunch in limited time.  I was just about ready to leave, when there she was, with her new baby and her mother.  She's adjusting to the demands of raising a child, and as she said, there are some aspects to child rearing that nobody can prepare you for.  Still, it was obvious that this little fellow will have one heck of a good start to life, and that Shauna's sense of humor and fun is already instilled in him.  I apologize for the poor quality pictures, but wanted to share the fact that those few minutes with Shauna and her baby made my day a whole lot sweeter.

When I arrived home, I realized I had forgotten her baby's name.  I e-mailed Shauna and she sent a little explanation of how she arrived at the name, Sajen.

In her words:

"My little brat's name is Sajen. I know it's unique. I always liked Sage as it means wisdom, but I was worried about it being mispronounced if spelled this a way...so we changed the spelling to reflect the word phonetically. Sajen is also a Punjabi name meaning beloved...but the "a" is pronounced "au", so we westernized it a bit to come up with Sajen."

Here, Sajen has just woken up.  He's not quite sure what's going on, but he's game to give it a try, whatever it is.

Shauna's Mom is making faces, and he finally gets it.  THAT'S what it's all about!  Grandma's being funny.
Then his very proud grandma holds him while Shauna makes funny faces.  He's still keen, but wondering why the game rules changed so quickly.  Now, Mom is making the funny faces.
"I get it," he laughs.  "When in doubt, laugh.  That'll keep them all happy!  
Thanks for the laughter and chance to reconnect, Shauna.  I hope we can get together again.  Maybe, I'll be able to get the next pictures focused so that we can fully appreciate you and your beautiful family.