Leigh

When people look at my name for the first time, they freak out. They think it looks so complicated. When I tell them to just say Bret-Lee then they say, "Well why didn't your parents just spell it that way?" This is why:

Leigh is a British name that has been in our family for a while. It was a last name about six generations ago, and now has been a middle for some of my ancestors. When my Grandma (who we call Tutu) had her third baby she named him Bret and gave him the middle name Leigh. When Bret was nine months old, he was diagnosed with a rare metabolic disease that accompanied a kidney disease. I am not sure exactly what it was. Anyway, the point is that is was going to kill him. The doctors said he wasn't going to live to see his first birthday.

Bret actually lived to be 14. It was the longest anyone had ever lived with that disease. My mom was born when he was 8. While all of the other older kids were at school, Bret and my mom would spend a lot of time together. They were best friends. When Bret died, my mom told Tutu that she was going to name her first child Bret. But since I was a girl, I was named Bretleigh. And I love my name.

Ever since Bret died, Leigh has become an even more important name in our family. Now there is a Brandon Leigh, a Jace Leigh, and a Bretleigh. And I am pretty sure it will carry on. I am planning on giving a son the middle name Leigh, and I think other family members are too.

So that is why I'm Bretleigh, not Bretlee. I love my name, and I love what it represents. I can't wait to meet my Uncle Bret someday. I hope he will be happy with the way I lived my life and carried on his name.