Juliet:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

What’s in a name? A name is artificial and meaningless.

I may disagree with Shakespeare on this one. There is such power in a name. In this case, the name is everything! So why did I name this project “My Dearest Dear”?

When I was a little girl, my grandmother would call me her, “dearest dear and heart of hearts.” In fact she still calls me this. This is how she addresses me in emails, cards, phone calls, and even gift tags. It means so much to me and makes me feel loved and cherished. To me, this name symbolizes is the most sincere and deepest sign of earthly love and affection. No matter where I am or what I do, when I hear my grandmother call me by that name, I know I am loved deeply.

I know I desire to connect and relate so there are bound to be other women like me out there who feel the same way. When I set out to experiment with creating a community for women, I knew I wanted the name to convey belonging. Listen to me, my dearest dear, you are loved!