Sarah Blue-Jay?

What kind of a name is that?

Sarah is my name, but how I got the “blue-jay” after it is a sweet little story that always warms my soul.

When I was a freshman in high school (my, that seems awhile ago) no one could pronounce my very long and very polish last name, so I became Sarah J.  Even though there was only one other Sara in the entire school and she didn’t even have an “H”, apparently it was still necessary to distinguish me with the letter “J”. 
I had become friends with an upperclassman who’s outgoing spirit was contagious.  She brought me out of my shell and introduced me to new people and got me excited for what high school could be.  She was Jewish and taught me about Hanukkah and even had me over for their family Hanukkah dinner.  It was so nice to have such a welcoming, accepting person as a friend in that awkward social transition from middle school to high school.
As much as I thought she was wonderful, she was always complementing me on my optimistic attitude toward life.  She once told me that I was like a blue-jay of happiness when I came around, and so she dubbed me Sarah Blue-Jay and the name was born.  Other people started calling me by the moniker but, somehow, eventually it got shortened to just Sarah-Jay.
That was nearly 14 years ago and I’ve moved over 1,700 miles away but the name stuck;  My college friends called me Sarah-Jay, my work name tag read “Sarah Jay”, people thought I was just one of those people with two first names, people who have only known me with my married name STILL call me Sarah-Jay 
Once a good friend asked about it and I told him the story, he said “That suits you.” and he began calling me Blue-Jay again.  It’s amazing how that one little bit defines a piece of me and describes the optimistic view that helps me get through the tough times.  Time, distance, and the natural progression of life have reduced our communication to the occasional Face Book comment, but I love my nickname and the friend who gave it to me will always hold a special place in my heart and memories.