Name change is a personal choice

Q - My husband of seven years and I have a strong relationship and three children (four, two, and newborn).

Before marriage, my motherin-law had pressured me to NOT change my name, because changing hers had been a mistake.

My husband agreed with her then but has since softened those views.

I’ve never loved my maiden name and while a staunch feminist, I’m also a romantic who loves the connection of a shared family name.

I regret that I never changed it. I tried to accept my decision to keep my name, but it never felt authentic.

Is it too late to change my name?

I have a career built on my maiden name and I don’t want two names.

I’d probably keep my maiden name while at my current employer, but I’m considering a career change so would make the switch then.

It’s also probably going to be more work now, because my children’s birth certificates now don’t reflect my married name.

Should I follow through on what I initially wanted or just accept my mistake and move on?

What’s A Name Worth?

A - It matters what that name is worth to you - an ideal or a definition, a history or a driving choice?

As a busy woman with three

Q - In my late-40s, I had a good relationship with my husband’s sisters. Sister A (late60’s) moved closer to us, and we started getting together frequently.

Sister B (early-60’s) had lived away but moved closer, too.

The two had rarely spoken or got together (I was always “inbetween”) until, in the same city again, they got close.

I THOUGHT all three of us got closer.

But A becomes whoever she’s around. B negative.

I’m a very happy person. Yet I’ve had women friends who’ve hurt me, so I don’t trust women easily.

The night before B’s birthday, her friend/organizer of a night out, asked me if I was coming.

I hadn’t been told about it by either sister. I was devastated.

I cut myself off from them. However, they were my only female companions.

My husband and I are very close, but there are times when you need a “girlfriend.”

What am I doing wrong? Was I right to cut them out?

Heartbroken is very bitter and