I guess it's because I have a middle name that I thought everyone did. Back in the stylish days of the 1980s most everyone who wanted to be somewhat preppy was wearing one of those sweaters with their initials embroidered on the chest. The first letter was smaller and to the left. The middle initial was smaller to the right, and the last initial was bigger in the middle. I don't know who made the embroidered-on-your-chest-initial rules, but we all followed. It never occurred to me that it could be an issue if someone didn't have three names to pull from.
Sometimes the most obvious is the least or last noticed.
Today is my mom's birthday. I was in the mall the other day, and I passed one of those stores that engraves whatever you want on a piece of glass or silver or wood or pewter or wood or something. I don't ever remember seeing my mom's initials on anything around the house, so I thought something from this fine establishment would be a nice gift for such a beautiful person. That's when I first noticed the obvious. My mom has no middle name. Her name is Shirley Bishop. That's it.
Our family is very traditional in a lot of ways. When women in our part of the world get married most of them completely take their husband's last name. It sounds old-fashioned and maybe even a little sexist, but that is still a big tradition where we live. So using Mom's maiden name as her middle name is not kosher. (Now that's funny. I don't care who you are.) Besides, it wouldn't be fair to Dad. He doesn't have a middle name either.
Even if she doesn't have three initials she's not in the least bit incomplete. There's more to that woman's spirit and heart than a lot of people will get to know. I hope this is her best birthday yet.
Happy birthday Mom!!
No comments:
Post a Comment