when moms move away

If you've been following my newsletter (which you should be), you're probably ready for me to explain my cryptic comments on "big changes" and happening in my life... Well, here's the first one: My mom is moving to Florida! No, I'm not the lucky one trading snowstorms for beaches, but this is a big change for me because I've never actually lived more than an hour away from my mom. On top of that, she's been my best friend since day one.

For those reasons, it's taken me a while to write this post — she found out back in March (her husband got an incredible job opportunity near Orlando). I've gone through so many different ways of talking about this on my blog. Do I dedicate a full post to it, or mention it casually on a weekly roundup? Do I share only my excitement for her big move, or do I dive into all the emotions it brings? Finally, I decided to open up and share it all. (Mostly because you were all so great when I expressed my vulnerability with you here.)

Family names: Mom's or Dad's?

I recently came across this article about a couple who gave their daughter the wife's last name rather than the husband's. It's definitely a bold statement for feminism and against patriarchy. But then the old-fashioned part of me thought, "What's wrong with tradition?"

There's something romantic about taking on the name of your new spouse. As girls, I think more than a few of us used to fantasize about being Mrs. Johnson or Mrs. Smith—we all wrote out the possibilities with our crush's name back in grade school, right?

Until reading this I've never seriously considered passing my own name along. I have thought about hyphenating my name with my future husband's or just keeping mine, but it never occurred to me that I could choose my child's last name.

The writer addresses quite a few things I've never considered: preserving a family name, preserving patriarchal lineage, a child's perspective growing up with a differently structured name than his or her peers.

What do you think? Would you ever consider giving your children your a last name other than your husband's?

(Image via Cara Loren)