While Daddy and I didn’t find out if you were a boy or a girl until the moment we welcomed you into this world, we'd started to talk about children's names very early on; like before we were married “early”! We'd come to love the name "Liam" and having families with Irish roots we thought it was befitting. When I became pregnant having to choose a name became a reality and we settled pretty quickly on your middle name being "Daniel", in remembrance of my father, Daniel Dougherty, who died serving his country when I was only 3 years old.
You were conceived in Ireland in mid-spring, and one of the greatest views and experiences of our trip was a drive through The Conor Pass on the road from Doonbeg to the Town of Dingle. The Conor Pass is the highest mountain pass in Ireland. It's situated on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The pass road runs some 4 1/2 miles rising to 1500 feet as it winds its way through the Kerry Mountains. There are wonderful views of the coast from the top, and when we looked back from where we’d come, there was an amazingly expansive view of emerald green Ireland; cliffs, a waterfall and lakes stretched to the horizon. At the top of the Pass there is a car park where travelers can take in the magnificent view. From this point the road begins to wind down to the beautiful town of Dingle. And actually, one of the funniest memories of the trip happened as we approached Conor Pass – for which we had not sought out to traverse! I spotted a huge orange road sign saying "ACHTUNG!" and then a bunch of other warnings I assumed were written in Gaelic. From the back of the van I asked Daddy, Uncle Paul, Aunt Jen and little Nate “Hey- did you all see that sign??”…No response! Nothing... Crickets.
We were well engaged up the mountain pass before it became blatantly obvious that this road was serious business – a steep incline, single car pass, and nowhere to pull over if you got into a game of chicken with someone coming down from the other direction! I hope young Nathan doesn’t remember the pass, because there were quite a few expletives used to described both our fear and our aww of the view on that car ride!
So one day a few months ago, Daddy told me he really liked the name "Conor", and had looked up it’s Gaelic meaning – "Lover of hounds". Daddy and I loved the Gaelic spelling, which of course matched that of Conor Pass, and we settled then and there on your name.
Your name stems from Irish roots, conceived in Ireland, and will always remind Daddy and I (and Aunt Jen and Uncle Paul, too) of our great adventure over the Conor Pass. And you've already got two dogs at home who are so excited to meet you! And you will undoubtedly love them... Conor Daniel Yerkes, you have a very special name which befits just how miraculous you are, in every way.
Always remember Conor – Mommy loves you. Always.
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