About My Blog’s Name

Q: Why did you name your blog “Lemon Shark”?

A: It was 1 AM. I was tired. For weeks, I’d been working on my new WordPress site: getting to know the dashboard, settings, tools, widgets, and whatnot. The time had come for me to get real. I was ready to release this beast into the world and I hadn’t yet decided on a header or a name. The final contenders were all open on my laptop and I flicked back and forth between them until I couldn’t stand looking any more. I got up, pulled my Webster’s New Explorer College Dictionary off the shelf, closed my eyes, opened the dictionary to a random page, and pointed. My finger landed on “lemon shark”.
(It was this close to “lemmings”.)

Q: It’s in the dictionary? You mean it’s a real thing?

A: Why yes, it is indeed a real thing. I love learning new things and here is what I’ve learned:

When I’m tired, I’m inclined to do radical, desperate things like grab a dictionary and open it to a random page to name my blog.
A lemon shark is “a dangerous medium-sized shark of the warm Atlantic that is yellowish brown to gray above with yellow or greenish sides”. (Webster’s Dictionary)

There it is! The noun at the bottom of the page. (Look how close I was to naming my blog “lemon law”.)

I woke up the next morning feeling like I had consulted my Magic 8 Ball for advice. (Which I’ve totally done before so no big.) Anyway, the words “lemon” and “shark” started sounding pretty cool together. By breakfast, I loved it.

And think of all those metaphors and analogies: navigating through the unknown with dangers lurking, treading water, drowning in responsibilities… Plus this pretty, yellow shark is remarkably smart, social, and fiercely protective of its family.

Also, I’d have to say that in the vast sea of life, I’m definitely swimming with sharks.