The Story Behind her Name: Maggie Reese

Ten years ago in January of 2008 I found out I was pregnant with Carli Lynn.  I really toyed with the idea of using the name Maggie, because it was my MeMaws but I didn’t!  Then Ava came along in 2010.  I thought about it but I couldn’t do it because all the cousins had talked about naming their baby girl Maggie.  They were older, they had first dibs.But ten years later, and plenty of little boys , but NO Maggie! thus I laid claim to the name Maggie.  Why you may ask were we all so obsessed with using the name Maggie?  Well, family.  Heritage.  Memories.  All of the above.  Let me tell you about Maggie Hawto Bennett AKA MeMaw.

 MeMaw was my Grandma’s mom.  During my life time, her home was with her daughter, my Grandma.  She was always helpful around the house, cooking, cleaning, sewing and crocheting.  Doing what she could to make life easier for those around her.  She was beautiful both inside and out.  My memories of her are few but precious.  She loved ALL OF US but my little brother, Anthony, gave her a purpose in life when she was able to do little.  When he was small she rocked, sang and played little games.  It wasn’t unusual for her to be found with him on his pallet either playing with him or trying to calm him so Grandma could finish what she was doing.  She was so patient.  She’d let him sit in her lap and just run his little cars all over her.  All while she listened to Andy & I run thru slamming doors being loud and crazy. She gave awesome hugs.  She loved God.  She loved her family.  She was the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman.  MeMaw raised four kids…three girls and a boy.     And most of all, she was the mother to my Grandma.  My Grandma who meant the world to me, who helped shape me into who I am today.  To me, the name Maggie holds so much more than naming a child after a great grandparent. 

Naming my baby girl Maggie, is an honor because the beautiful, Godly woman who she is named after left behind a legacy of family.

Another reason why using the name Maggie is even more special today than it was ten years ago, is because in these ten years Grandpa Herb shared with us his life story in writing.  In reading through it last year, I realized that Grandpa Herb’s mother’s name was Margaret Hays and she went by the name Maggie.  How amazingly special it is for our little Maggie to be able to wear the name of two Godly, beautiful women!  I cannot wait for Grandpa Herb to get to meet our little Maggie.  It will be such a special day.

Maggie’s middle name is Reese.  Keith and I agreed that if I picked the first name, he got to pick the middle name and so he did…Reese.  He says he picked Reese because it reminds him of me because I often go by Resa.  To him, it had meaning and so it was that our fourth child, our third girl came about to bear the name of Maggie Reese Hays.