What's In A Name?

     We're still waiting for the insurance binder to go through and be finalized. I'm hoping that's going to take place today and then we'll be making the trek up there on Friday to close the deal. I thought now would be as good a time as any to delve into how we settled on Hope Springs as the name for our little slice of heaven.

     Every homestead and camp needs a name. It's an unwritten law that I'm sure goes back to the "old days" and I'm not one for breaking laws , written or otherwise. Plus, it kind of makes you feel like you own some huge estate; like you're a big mucky-muck. So we needed a name. It can't just be any name though. It has to be particular to your property, or family; something meanigful.

     Way back when we were first looking at real estate listings, I saw this little cabin up on the web. I initially passed it by because, well, it's not exactly a looker. I mean, if we're being totally honest, it's a little creepy looking. That lead to Frank coming up with the name Creeper's Cabin. That was immediately shot down because there is no way in hell that'm I'm spending any time in someplace called Creeper's Cabin. It sounds perverted or monstrous, possibly both. We needed to continue thinking. I started a list on our whiteboard in the kitchen and every so often we would come up with some other quirky title. I came up with an especially good one called Ged Offamai Homestead. (think about it and say it quickly, wink wink). That was a favorite of mine and really made me laugh, however, I was the only one laughing, so that got scratched pretty quickly. We kept coming up with names, some good, some not so good. 

     Then we got the news that our financing fell through. I was absolutely crushed and with a heavy heart, I erased all of the names on the whiteboard. We had no cabin, we didn't need names anymore. That was a sad day in the household. I don't know, it was like a visual representation of running out of options. 

     But, we're here right now, so you know that things turned around, we kept chipping away at the mountainous obstacle in our way and we got the dang cabin! We were once again in need of a name. Things rolled along and we emailed paperwork, went up and looked at the cabin and fell even more in love. As we were looking around what little bit of the property we could see, we noticed at least two places that were potenially springs, meaning water sources, and we were even more excited. Then it hit me. Hope Springs. Not only were we hoping that we had springs on the property for water sources, but we never lost hope that we would make this happen. The old saying "hope springs eternal" played in my mind and I knew we had found the name. 

     The quote comes from An Essay On Man by Alexander Pope. Apparently he was referring to peoples' ability to believe in life after death and the hereafter. We haven't died, but getting this cabin and making this investment is like a new life opening up for us. I knew it would happen, I felt it in every fiber in my being. I knew it would be difficult and stretch me to my absolute max both financially and emotionally, but I knew that this was not only going to happen, but it needed to happen. There was no better name than Hope Springs Homestead. 

     So that, my friends, is the long and short of how Hope Springs came into being. Eventually, I'll make a little sign to hang up at the cabin. It'll hang on the front like a name tag for all to see and by all, I mean the bears, turkeys and coyotes becaus there aren't too many people around. I have to imagine that the little cabin will be happy and proud to be named. I have to imagine, also, that the wights of the cabin and the land will like it and approve. I hope they do anyhow. 

     As a side note, because Frank was quite upset about losing out on Creeper's Cabin, I told him he could use it for his workshed (which sounds even creepier).