I sometimes wish I had kept the name I was given at birth (the term 'maiden name' is antiquated, too, don't you think?). I did give it to my youngest son as his first name, but we don't use it. When you have children it is so complicated, maybe especially in the South, to have kids with a different name than yours. I cringed whenever I was called by my older kids' last name after the divorce, but I really can't hold it against the teachers or whomever it was. They can't really know until they're told.

Truthfully, I prefer to be called by my first name at all times, even when people I first met online and now see in person persist in calling me "Tuck" from the old AOL days. I will even ask children to please call me Karen, especially if their parents instruct them to call me Miss Karen or Mrs. Tucker, if the child will allow me to call them by their first name. I prefer to be on equal footing with all people, on a personal basis.

I never get mail addressed to Mrs. Charles Tucker. Thank goodness!

Karen