dad oddness
Aug. 1st, 2006 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quietannSo my dad and Helen sent out an "update letter," sort of like a Christmas letter but sent mid-year. They do this when they move, so everyone will have their new contact info and a little bit of news about the doings of the T----- and B---- families.
OK, no big deal.
But... our letter was addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Ben L---" rather than "Mr. Ben L--- and Dr. Ann M--- T-----" It was in my father's handwriting, not Helen's.
I have never been "Mrs. Ben L---" and I never will be. Dad *knows* this. He knows that if someone calls the house and asks for "Mrs. Ben L---" I will tell them no one by that name lives here. He supported my decision to keep my given name back when I got married 4 years ago, especially because it is attached to the 20 or so scientific publications of which I am an author or co-author. And he is more proud that I am "Dr. T-----" than I am, probably. He's a retired academic; he understands the "value of a name." He also supported my brother's wife's decision to become Mrs. Alan T-----. He understands individual choice.
I don't know whether to be angry, or worried, or just shrug my shoulders. I suppose that if it happens again I'll lean towards angry...
OK, no big deal.
But... our letter was addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Ben L---" rather than "Mr. Ben L--- and Dr. Ann M--- T-----" It was in my father's handwriting, not Helen's.
I have never been "Mrs. Ben L---" and I never will be. Dad *knows* this. He knows that if someone calls the house and asks for "Mrs. Ben L---" I will tell them no one by that name lives here. He supported my decision to keep my given name back when I got married 4 years ago, especially because it is attached to the 20 or so scientific publications of which I am an author or co-author. And he is more proud that I am "Dr. T-----" than I am, probably. He's a retired academic; he understands the "value of a name." He also supported my brother's wife's decision to become Mrs. Alan T-----. He understands individual choice.
I don't know whether to be angry, or worried, or just shrug my shoulders. I suppose that if it happens again I'll lean towards angry...
