What's In A Name?

I really can’t believe the amount of time I spent agonizing over the name for this blog. I mean, after all, it’s just a blog, right? It’s one of a million other blogs out there on the web. Will anyone actually read it? Will anyone besides me ever even know that it exists?

And yet I spent precious time fretting over just the right name. Why is that? I’d like to think it’s because I’m a perfectionist as a writer; a true artist, if you will. However, I believe it goes much deeper than that. Just as our personal names are tied to our identities, my blog’s name is tied to my web persona. It defines who I am out there in the vast social sea that is the internet. People read a name and instantly form a concept in their minds of what a site/blog/person is all about.

This line of thinking leads me to ponder the many other names by which we try to define ourselves. We affix labels to ourselves and others that denote political preferences, religious (or non-religious) ideologies, professional achievements, and even familial roles. Obviously, for the sake of communication we must find concise terms to describe ourselves and those around us. But if they’re simply utilitarian descriptors, why do we become so attached? Why are we, as human beings, so passionate about choosing our own labels and rejecting those chosen for us? For example, note the subtle (and not so subtle!) nuances between “Pro-Life” and “Anti-Abortion”; “Democrat” and “Left Winger”, “Religious Right” and “Fundamentalist”, "At-Home-Mom" and "Housewife."

So how does this relate to me and my little blog? Well, I guess as naïve as it sounds, I wanted a name that would attract people, let them know who I am and what to expect. I am a woman, a wife, a mother. I am a Messianic Jewish person. I am a lover of art and literature, theater and dance, fine wines, coffee and chocolate. But how do I pack all that into one phrase, and manage to make it catchy?

That’s how I landed on the name “After Dinner Mintz.” In addition to the little play on words, it’s an invitation for anyone who’s willing to curl up at the end of the day with a nice glass of wine or a cup of hot tea and enter into a dialogue with me about current events, politics, religion, art, or even the mundane happenings of every day life. I hope you’ll join me and I hope it makes your journey in this world a little sweeter.