Our boys have new names. They’ve always had these names since we adopted them, but now it’s official. Last Monday three toddlers whose legal names were Phan Thanh Tai, Phan Thanh Nhan and Phan Thanh Tam went to the Marin County Superior Court and came home Devon Tai Mann, Nicholas Nhan Mann and Alexander Tam Mann.
Currently we call them Devon Tai, Niko Nhan and Xander Tam. The boys recognize their Vietnamese name, so we’re using the double name until they grow accustomed to their American name as well. Our plan has been to eventually call them by their American name at home, and we may do that. However, just as the boys acclimatize to their American names, Mommy and Daddy grow fond of their Vietnamese names, which are quite beautiful.
As her parting gift to them, the boys’ birth mother gave them their Vietnamese names. To be a good and successful person, one first needs talent. Tai is the Vietnamese word for talent. That talent must be combined with heart. Tam is the Vietnamese word for heart. With talent and heart, one becomes a good human being. Nhan is the Vietnamese word for human being.
The ceremony was simple, lovely and warm, thanks to the appreciative and toddler-friendly atmosphere created by Commissioner Wood at the Marin Civic Center. The two adoption cases that day entered the courtroom first. Obviously it’s a smart move on the part of the court to empty the room of fidgety toddlers before getting on with the day’s work, but they didn’t have to keep the room clear of everyone else during our time. They didn’t have to bring out a little basket of toys for the boys to play with as Mommy & Daddy held their hands up and promised to raise these adopted children as we would any natural born child. They didn’t have to grant three scrambling monkeys unfettered access to the courtroom, something Daddy was pretty sure the court would regret.
Commissioner Wood’s sincerity in her well wishes and acknowledgement of the triplet’s happiness in our family touched us both. The court clerk burst out with, “I think I’m going to cry.” But the memory that will stick with me the most as we took pictures of our family of five, was that of the otherwise staid sheriff’s deputy jumping up and down, jangling his keys, making faces and keeping the boys’ attention on the camera. I wish I had a picture of that.
