What is in a name? A LOT.......

At birth I was given the name Margie Larue Alford. That name has morphed over the years, and if expressed to correctly chronicle my journey it would now be Margie Larue Alford Lackey Swaim Lackey Lackey. EEEWWWW!!!!

Most of my life I disliked my name and somewhere along the line changed the middle one to La Rue to make it more unique and to reflect who I think myself to be. Besides I went to school with a boy named Larue and I needed to distinguish myself as a girl. The Margie part was given to me because of a cousin on my daddy's side of the family. I don't know if that was my mother's idea or my daddy's. I didn't particularly like being named "after" somebody else, certainly not that specific name. Somewhere I acquired the story that my mother was reading a book which had a character named Larue and that is how I came to have it. I am very grateful for whatever conspired to bless me with that name.

No one had ever heard of a Larue/La Rue at the time I was growing up so I was nicknamed Rudy within the family. I am still fighting that name to this day. Vicky has solved the problem by referring to me as AR since she has always known me as Aunt Rudy.

The Margie name plagued me all my life because it was on my birth certificate and consequently was on my Social Security card which meant it was a permanent part of all my employment records. This caused people to try to call me Margie wherever I went, which rankled with me constantly. I could become quite unreasonable about it at times.

Finally, after my last divorce I went to court in Talladega AL and for a mere $17.00 had my name officially changed to La Rue Alford. End of story except for all the people who still want to call me by my childhood nickname.

When my children were born you can imagine what a thing I had about being sure their names was right. I was alone when my first child was born because her father was in Canada serving in the Air Force. Of course my family was with me because I had come home to live with them at the time. But in the naming of the baby, I was alone.

Prior to her birth, I had named my baby Michelle La Rue Lackey. I know, I said I didn't like naming babies after anybody. I didn't consider I had done that in this case, I just wanted the unique name La Rue to continue in the family. When my baby was born and I saw that little face, she did not look like a Michelle, so I had to come up with a name that fit that face. I don't remember where I found the name Jennifer, but it was perfect at the time.

I was very adamant that no one call Jennifer anything other than Jennifer. I did not want her called Jen or Jenny because her father's brother's (her uncle) name was Jim and he thought if she was called Jen it would be "after" him.

Somewhere in her childhood Jennifer asked me what she would be called when she grew up because she thought Jennifer was a little girl's name. Needless to say, she is now known as Jen Hagan, and it is her company name as well.

When my second baby was due, I was told that I would have no say in the choosing of the name. Her father and her sister, now six, did not want any complicated name bestowed on the baby. So between them they chose Linda Ann Lackey. I did have one thing to say. I insisted that an e be put on the Ann to make it Anne because I did not want my sister-in-law to think she had been named after her.

When Linda was born and placed in my arms her name fit her little face so I was happy. Linda could probably tell you her version of the impact of her name on her life but it never seemed to stir up the same controversies as mine had in my lifetime.

Soooo......there are always stories behind any person's name that you may never know. Think carefully when you choose a name for someone else to cope with all their lives. It is a defining moment. I still don't know how Jennifer chose the names for her girls, but it is bound to be an interesting story.