Why we named her Vavielle

 

When I was a girl my Mother and I had lots of talks, I know every girl talks to her mother.  But ours were special, Edna and I had real conversations. Perhaps they had been going on for many years but the ones I remember best began when I was fourteen and we inherited my Mother’s family farm.

We always talked when we were working, and it seemed we were always working.   Doing dishes provided a great time for our discourse, Laundry, ditto.  Making beds, cleaning, cooking, pickling, gardening, chasing cows; I recall chats from all of those time.  Then there was berry picking!  That was when the serious tête-à-tête took place.

“Vavial, is that not a beautiful name?” began Mother on one of our raspberry picking jaunts.

“What….

“Vavial, is a nice name.” Mother replied.

“For who?”

“A girl”.

“You are not going to have another baby!!!!” I protested!

(By way of explanation, I was the oldest of six.  When I was 14 Mother had her last baby, my only sister.  I was not impressed.  And I had stressed there were to be no more babies!)

“No – let’s take a break,” said Mum.

So we located one another through the raspberry canes, found a patch of grass and had a long drink of water. Mother had survival down pat; she was freezing partial bottles of water as soon as pop came in plastic.  Then the story…

In the 1940’s my mother was a student, and a teacher, at Emmanuel Bible School in New Castle Bridge, New Brunswick.  One summerMother and some of the other students travelled to Maine for camp meetings.  This was an annual summer occurrence for evangelicals where for a week or more they would meet, visit and have three services a day.  As well as preaching the services highlighted singing, both congregational and “special singers”.   Now one of those soloists was a beautiful francophone lady with dark haired, wonderful smile and a magnificent voice.  And mother said her name was Vavial.

Edna, that would be my Mother, was so taken with the name that she vowed any future daughter would be called Vavial.  Then in 1949 enter Talmage Vail and v’s abounded.  I was born June 1950 and Edna decided that Vavial Vail would be too much, so called me Valerie.  (I was named Valerie Vail which was no treat for a kid with a lisp!)

And now Mother is telling me this story, which she repeated several times each year.  Fast forward a few year and I am pregnant, however, I am still in high school so it was not a happy time.  As the pregnancy progressed I thought of names; “Leif” for a boy and “Vavial” for a girl.  The most wonderful baby girl arrived on March 25/1968; all dark hair and dark eyes.  We called her Vavial Rae Brooker (yes her father and I had married).

baby Vavial 5 months

Vavial was the perfect baby, slept through the night, good traveller, not given to vomit.  I loved her name, yet many people asked if I had “made it up” from my Christian and surnames!

Vavial said she did not like her name but she was always a beautiful, intelligent girl and I felt it set her apart from the pack.  When Vavial was in grade three French immersion came to our area and the program included Quebec born monitors.   During a chat with one of the monitors the origin of Vavial’s name arose.  So I recounted mother’s story. 

 

 

“Mais oui”,  said the monitor “Vavielle!”

“Excuse me?”

“C'est le nom pour une fille, comme Michele, Danielle et Gabrielle. Tu comprends?”

Then she explained that my mother had anglicised a French name.   Vavial and I discussed the subject and Vavial  came to understand that she had a unique French name.  

 

Now Vavielle
with sister \leisa

 

When she entered middle school she was Vavielle Rae Brooker.  People seemed to be more able to pronounce her name.  I liked it when I chose that name, I like it still. 

 

And my Mother?  When Vavielle was five a second daughter, Leisa, was born to our family.  As soon as Leisa could talk Mother referred to Vavielle as “Sissy” and so she has been to Leisa and Grammy Edna for the past forty years.

 

Vavielle (aka Sissy) &
Grammy Edna

 

Now that we are all on line a few more Vavielle’s have surfaced.  There are now five Vavielle's on Facebook. Google searches always turn up a few Vavielles and occasionally it surfaces as a surname.

 

 

 

 

 

Vavielle has had a love hate affair with the name and in later years has shortened herself to “Vave”.  She has been Auntie Vave to her niece and nephews and now Mommy to her little guy Jonah.   Whatever the moniker, I love her dearly.  And I think Vavielle’s name suits my special, talented, competent, loving daughter and Vavielle she will always be, to me.

Vavielle and I ( Valerie Vail Brooker Bauer)