what's in a name?

I've changed my name.... sort of. A lot of people have asked me about it, so I figured I'd blog about it here and then it would answer at least some of them....

I've taken my maiden name again and hyphenated it with my married name. It's kind of a reminder of who I am. That probably sounds weird, but its probably okay to be weird.

See, we've been in Hepburn now for a year, and it looks like we're staying a while. We feel at peace and continue to feel like this is the right place for us.


But here's the thing; In my 'old life', I had opportunities to remember my family's cultural background (french canadian.. or maybe Franco Manitobain?!) ... meetings at the school, kids activities, committees I was on, fairs/festivals we could attend...it never dawned on me to think of my family heritage, probably because I never had occasion to forget it.


Here in Hepburn, there is no evidence whatsoever that there are two official languages in this country. Or maybe there are - high German and low German. Core French isn't even offered in the High School as an option. And unless I'm annoyed with my kids in front of someone, I have no occasion to speak French.. the kids sure don't want to hear it around the house! I could so easily lose sight of what used to be an important part of my life, and I don't want that to happen.
The other thing is that there is a prevailing culture within the community that I now live in.. I want to honor that one without forgetting my own.. So, my new-old last name will remind me where I came from. Because I don't want to forget.


FYI: I wanted to put a little picture on this post, so I went to a clip art site and searched "French". nothing good to post, but all the clips were of either Food or People... my two favorite things. Now I know I wasn't switched at birth. I wonder what would happen if I typed Mennonite....?