The Joys of Marriage, VIII

One marriage, two names: Against my better judgment, I honestly tried changing my last name when Robin and I married. I ordered a dozen certified copies of our marriage license from the state of Nevada and went about making the changes. I was overwhelmed! Banks, mortgage, driver's license, social security, investments - the list went on and on. We had agreed that it might be wise to keep my own name where the business was concerned, but I knew I'd never get used to signing one name on personal checks and another name on business checks. I finally gave up. Robin wasn't too pleased but he didn't make a big deal out of it.

I have been Peggy Chrusciaki for over 32 years. By now, even my maiden name sounds foreign as it applies to me. I am Peggy Chrusciaki and will always be Peggy Chrusciaki. The minor changes I'd made in the beginning made me feel like I was in the Witness Protection Program. This is the name my friends, family and business associates know me by. I saw no need to change that.

If we were younger and wanted children together (heaven forbid!) I would eagerly change my name. At this stage in my life, I saw no point in assuming a new identity. One day I suggested to Robin that we both choose a last name we like and go have them changed. He looked at me like I was crazy. "No. This is who I am. This is who I've always been. I'm not changing my last name." Well, duh! The same applies to me.

Now, he sort of laughs as he calls me Peggy Lee Pannell Venters Chrusciaki Shuman Occupant Resident. Whew! On those rare occasions when he gets a little touchy about this subject, I've found a way to shut him up. I merely tell him ever so sweetly that I find it so precious that he has this old-fashioned view about marriage. This tough, macho, modern-day man drops the subject.