My last name is Lee. Not my middle name. It’s my last name… well it’s technically my maiden name. My married name just doesn’t have the same ring to it: Teryn Moe Photography vs. Teryn Lee Photography. That’s right. MOE. Is it just me or does Moe sound a little gangster? Maybe I should keep it straight street and officially change my name to T-Moe, recycle an old Beatnuts song and lay down a track called Teryn From The Block. I will wear tight pants with bling on the pockets and a big faux fur jacket, with sunglasses that have the snowboard goggle effect when I smile. It will be epic.
Unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking. What will happen in reality is: people will start calling me Moe, like Moe from the Simpsons. That’s my husband’s nickname. Everyone, besides family, calls him that. My good friend didn’t even know his real first name until months after I had met him when I was talking about this guy Damian and she was like: “Who is that?” Honestly.
I’ve tried to convince my husband to take my last name but he doesn’t seem to fall for my tricks. Telling him things like: “Damian Lee sounds like a movie star’s name” just doesn’t seem to work.
I’ve decided not to worry about it until we start thinking about having kids. Then maybe I will consider changing it so that my kids don’t pester me with a question that I don’t want to answer. Why their last name is different than mommy’s? Well kiddies, it’s because mommy doesn’t want to sound too gangster-ish, but you’re going to have to deal with it. I can just picture it now… me unloading them from a mini-van… they’re walking towards their elementary school – with a giant clock on a chain around their necks, Kangol hats and Adidas track suits to polish off the look. That’s right. My kids will look like Flava Flav.