Daddy has wanted to use the letter x in one of our child's names. When we received news of a boy, and after Zane celebrated that he and his new little brother would defeat their older sister together, we asked Vanessa what name she thought the baby should have. She suggested Hendrix, knowing Daddy's compassionate heart toward Jimi Hendrix and love for his giftedness as a guitarist and lyricist. It seemed perfect to me at that very moment. It's outside of the box, for which we love, and Daddy gets to use the letter x. Also, how many people will stereotype the naming of our son after a broken amazing musician? It's a great way to figure out who will make quick judgments. :-)
The next step in naming Hendrix was figuring what went well with it and to continue to honor family in the mix. Neal Hendrix seems exactly right. Neal is his great grandfather's middle name: James Neal Betz. I believe Neal was given to him in a very similar way as it has been given to Hendrix. The Irish meaning for Neal is champion. We didn't know that until after picking it but oddly it has brought things full circle for Daddy and me. (Jimi Dog was named after Hendrix, by Daddy, after I suggested naming him Champion, since he was the only survivor of his litter. Jimi Dog was our first dog child in our first home together.)
His existence is magical . . . hard to explain. And no one should believe us in a worldly way. He's not only a rainbow bridge representing our life transformations, but Neal Hendrix is our voodoo child. No evil or dark in any way -- he'll continue to break barriers as part of God's plan. Maybe, just maybe, he's our electric baby.
