Emmi’s Smile

June 30th. Three months have passed since the birth of my daughter Emmi. I never thought I would get married, let alone give birth to a child, so it seems like a dream that I am now a mother. As a single person, there were times when I imagined that if I ever had a child, I would laugh. That is the origin of my daughter’s name. Some day I’m going to tell her, your mama laughed when she found out she was having you. Like the story in the Bible, where Sarah laughs when she is told that she will have a child in her old age, it was a laugh mixed with joy and doubt. After all this time? Me? It definitely was not a bad feeling, but to me, who thought I would never have kids, it comes as a surprise. I decided that just as Sarah named her son “Isaac” (he who laughs), so I would name my daughter “laughter.”

But… “warau” (the word for laughter in Japanese) didn’t really strike me as a name, and anyway, Americans can’t roll their rs to pronounce it. I wanted a name that was easy to say for Americans and Japanese at least (and while we’re at it, why not for someone from any country) and so I chose “Emmi” since the character for laughter can be read as both “warau” and “emi.” It’s at times like this that I’m glad Chinese characters can be read in more than one way. Well…maybe this is the only time. (Why does one Chinese character have multiple ways to read it? That is so confusing and hard to remember!) I thought of just using the one character 「笑」but then people might not know whether to read it as “warau” or “emi” so I decided to add a second charcter for the “mi.” At first, I was thinking of using the character that means “beautiful,” but that was before we became farmers. For farmers, the charcter meaning “fruitful” seemed more appropriate. Believe it or not, I changed my mind after I came to that conclusion in a dream.

“Laughter” and “fruitful,” that sounds like a pretty nice name, if I do say so myself. My husband had no complaints, so that quickly closed the deal. And so, my daughter’s name was decided, but the more I think about it, the more I realize what a meaninful name it is. I was the one who laughed when I found out I was with child, but, of course, I want my daughter to laugh a lot, and I want us to laugh together, and I also want her to be a person who makes those around her laugh. All of those desires are contained in that one character meaning “laughter.”

The character for “fruitful” also includes many meanings. I can say that Emmi is the fruit of my womb, and farmers work in expectation of crops bearing fruit, and when we experience good results in daily life, we also call it “fruitful.” In the Bible, the character that is developed inside of us is called “the fruit of the spirit.” That is, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control.” To be sure, as a parent, I would be happy to see my child bearing this kind of fruit. I want her to live a fruitful life in many senses.

In other words, the name “Emmi” tells my experience of becoming pregnant and bearing a child, and at the same time, it expresses what I pray for her to experience, and also what I hope those around my daughter will receive through her. You might wonder if it is fair to place such big expectations on such a little girl.　But, I’m not expecting anything from her. My expectations are in God, who gave her life, who has a plan for her life, and who will work in and through her.

Emmi is only three months old, but already God has met my expectations. Emmi is a healthy little girl who laughs a lot. She is very friendly and is always smiling at the people around her and makes everyone she meets smile. Even people who have never met her have received energy and healing just from looking at her picture. Although she is not aware of it, it makes me happy to see Emmi’s existence bearing the fruit of joy and peace, and I really feel that this is the perfect name for her.

I’m thankful from the bottom of my heart that this child has come to RyoMimi Farm. Actutally, one more meaning of her name is hidden here. Just as a smile exists between both ears of your face, Emmi exists between Ryo and Mimi. (This is a play on words, since our names together sounds like “both ears” and Emmi sounds like “smile.”) If I were writing in English, perhaps I would use the phrase, “Emmi makes us smile from ear to ear.” I’m sure some day she will appreciate dad jokes. Dearest Emmi, let’s keep laughing together every day. I love your smile.