Namesake

Nathan's middle name is Allen. It was my grandfather's last name. Since he had no sons, my younger brother's middle name is Allen to carry on the family name. In honor of this man and our family heritage, my brother and I both named our first sons' middle names Allen. Interestingly, Nathan has a trait of sorts that reminds me of my "Pa". My grandfather used to sometimes take a short afternoon nap on the floor of his living room with his knees up. I remember thinking it was funny and, though I tried it myself, I never personally took to it. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone else sleep with their knees up, though I'm sure people do from time to time. One night I went into Nathan's room to check on him and was surprised to see his knees up in the air. I actually thought he was awake, but he was sound asleep. The first time he actually positioned himself this way before going to sleep, I asked him why he did it. "I just like to sometimes". Fine with me! Maybe everyone but me does this and it's no big deal, but I like to think it's an Allen connection!