I now realize my fear is a reality. The name “Owen” is too popular. While the name has maintained a ranking in the 50s for most popular boy names during the past few years, not really moving up or down much on the list, I thought that maybe a name in the 50s wasn’t too bad, even if I’ve noticed a lot of other kids with the same name, hearing that name called at parks, toy stores, libraries, anywhere there are lots of kids. But now, I can no longer ignore the evidence. Owen is about to become one of three Owens in his daycare class. Three! My Owen will continue to be called that. The second is being called “O”. I’m not sure what the new one will be called. Wen? Colin has his own solution for this problem. For some reason, Colin has been calling his little brother Dewey recently. I’m not sure where Colin got this name.
Maybe it’s just a phase, but Colin and Owen seem to be getting along better now. Owen has always enjoyed following his big brother around, but in the past, that usually resulted in some “accident” with Owen sprawled on the ground crying. Either Colin is being a little more gentle with his brother, or Owen is simply a bit tougher. Probably the latter. In any case, there are now actual extended periods of time when the two can play together without either one crying. Not always, of course. There are still times when Colin meticulously builds something with blocks, only to have Owen come over and destroy that creation in seconds. And Colin still has a tendency to rip toys right out of Owen’s hands. But on occasion, the two of them can play together, or maybe more accurately, play near each other, with both boys happy to be around the other. It’s a nice thing to see. Owen can now often be seen racing cars around just like Colin. Colin still gets to pick his cars first, of course.
