Happy International Women's Day! As I observed the many posts on social media, a thought came to me. When a child is born, parents give that child a name. For boys, that name is his all is life. But for girls, sometimes the name gets lost. WHAT? You ask. Yep, that's what happened to me.
On the day that I married, the Minister presented me and my husband to the congregation as Mr. and Mrs. "Husband's ENTIRE name". I lost my birth surname just like that! My existence was now defined by "his" birth name. The Missus.
Three years later I gave birth to my one and only son. I was Mrs... and now Mom. I was still Bridget though.
Fast forward 4 years and my son is in preschool. I'm at the waiting area to pick him up. He is taking his own sweet time, so his teacher calls out to another teacher that "his Mom" is here for him. And so, phase II of name loss began, I was now identified not as myself but rather as "The Mom of" or The Wife of".
Over the next 15 years, as the kids went through preschool, primary and high school, I was "The Mom of" or " (insert child name)'s Mom".
Now that the kids are grown, and I have more social interactions by myself, I can reclaim at least part of my birth name. I AM BRIDGET!
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