I have a confession to make. I'm a convict.
Am I the only girl out there who had a tough time making the swap?!?
Don't get me wrong, I always intended to take my husband's last name for as long as I can remember - I may or may not have even practiced signing my name with the last names of potential candidates... but I digress. When I got engaged to Jon, I knew my last name would shortly become Ruiz. No questions asked. We had even set a certain time in regards to when the swap would happen - when my license expired obviously. It turns out that was a really long time. A long enough time for me to have certain ideas start appearing on the stage of my mind.
I'll admit straight up that I have attachment issues in regards to my last name. Ever since I can remember nicknames making an appearance among my peers, coaches, and teachers, my nickname has always had something to do with my last name. Gibby, Gibber, Gibbled, Gibbles and Bits, and even Kristen G-String (ONLY because my last name started with a G. Get your head out of the gutter!).
As I got older, I apparently inherited some distinguishing Gibb "looks," since it was a common occurrence to have people randomly ask me if I was by any chance a Gibb. Who doesn't like to be recognized as belonging to your family by mere appearance?!
Then there was the summer where I completely ditched my first name and only went by Gibb. It was when I waitressed in Waterton and there were too many other servers with K names. I introduced myself to my tables as Gibb and signed my bills that way too. It was AWESOME.
And lastly, of course, I have a great deal of pride in regards to my belonging to the Lawrence and Hazel Gibb family. Who wouldn't? And since I shared their last name I felt like an exclusive VIP cousin.
So there you have it. Pride and attachment issues. They planted some funny seeds in my head and I even let them start to grow.
And then those seeds got fertilized after meeting some exceptional women who I look up to and adore who have - gasp! - kept their maiden names. If they were doing it, so could I!
As the expiration date on my license drew closer, Jon and I had some pretty edgy conversations. They'd start with me hinting about keeping my last name and end with us both in a flat mood. Jon said he'd support me in whatever I did, but in the end it just didn't feel right for us.
So the deed is done. I'm legally a Ruiz. I'll be honest, a frustration I have is that suddenly I have a last name that people rarely pronounce correctly. So, let me teach you how to say it:
ROO - EEZ
Awesome. Now we're all on the same page. I'm now Kristen "Bad Wife" Ruiz.
Hahaha! Hilarious. I had no desire to keep Leishman whatsoever. Not that I hated my last name or anything, I just wasn't attached to it. I also thought that Kutarna sounded so much cooler, so I was happy to change my name.
ReplyDeleteI understand completely, with a name like Gibb, who wouldn't want to keep it? But I guess after 13 yrs, im use to Evans now. altho, I will always be proud to be a Gibb first!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm having a hard time with the idea of being Paige Harris. Not that I don't want to be a Harris...I just don't want to let go of my last name for some reason. I think it's kind of freaking Burns out a little bit even though he's not showing it much. I think part of the problem is that I don't want to have an extremely common last name. Even though people know a few Leishmans in Alberta, I don't really know of any close relation to them. I kind of take pride in that... As the time has gone by, though, I feel a little better about being a Harris. So conflicted.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I don't think keeping your maiden name constitutes you as being a bad wife. I kept my maiden name as my middle name so I have both, though I go by my husband's last name. Maybe you could do that? My sister-in-law never changed her last name and I don't think it makes her any less of a wife :)
ReplyDeletehaha I was the exact same way! I loved being a "Gibb". I was super sad when my licence expired and I had to switch it. The one thing that I clung to forever for some reason was my bank card. I never did switch it over. It said Tracie Gibb for prob 8-9 years. Then I lost it and had to put my married name on my new one.
ReplyDeleteAt least Ruiz is a cool last name.
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time letting go of my Gibb name too. It was sad. Every once in a while I get called Barb Gibb by accident and people say oops, and apologize. But I secretly love it. I'm jealous of all my sisters-in-law who get to have my last name now.
I know we are not giving up a part of ourselves by ditching our maiden names, but it did kind of feel like I did. I wanted to name my boy Gibb, but Danny wouldn't agree. Dang it! So there you go - name your first born Gibb, and the name will live on...
P.S. Yes, Andrew Gibb is my baby brother.
Kristen I truly feel the same way! It's been nearly 7 years and I still wish I could go back to Gibb. I loved telling people my name and them gushing over grandma and grandpa or even my mom and dad. And it makes me SO sad that there is only one family who will have posterity carrying on the Lawrence and Hazel Gibb last name!
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