January 11: Tell Me A Story
Alexandra M Meffert, Jan 11, 2021
- Description:
- 590 words
My journaling reads as follows:
Growing up, most kids did not like their middle name, I remember talking to friends and classmates from elementary school through high school, everyone asking what each other’s middle name was to judge if it was better or worse than theirs. Some people guarded their middle name as if it were some top secret, not wanting to be criticized for something they had no control over, others blurted theirs out like a joke or embarrassing story. It was inevitable that eventually all eyes would be on me, waiting to hear what monstrosity my middle name would be, sometimes I kept it secret, not because I was ashamed, but because it was special and I didn’t want to share it with just anyone, because once my middle name was shared, it was always, ALWAYS followed by questions.
Once my middle name was spoken it was always greeted with “What?!”, “What is it?”, “What does that mean?”, “Where’d that come from?!”. To which I would then have to explain a bit of general family history, and some personal family history, and I wasn’t always certain I wanted others to know that much about me and my family. For as long as I can remember I have felt an overwhelming sense of duty and protection for/of my family, so I guarded my family name, like a treasured family heirloom., and after all the prodding questions, one of the last questions was usually how do you spell it? Truth be told I struggled as a child with reading and spelling, so I couldn’t even spell my middle name until 3rd or 4th grade, so I was slightly ashamed that I struggled to spell something that was part of me, a defining part of my name.
Once I got older, and a little more self-assured, I was more open with sharing my middle name, although I still kept it secret sometimes to keep an air of mystery about myself. Never once had I ever hated, disliked, or been embarrassed or ashamed of my name. I knew the meaning, the history; I carry my name with pride and honor, and I have passed it down to my child, to keep our name alive.
You must be wondering by this point “what is it”, let me give you a little family history.
My family hails from Scotland, the Isle of Skye, it is where the ruins of Dunscaith Castle the Fortress of Shadow sit, built by our ancestors in the 13th century. My ancestors traveled to Ireland, where a church still stands carrying our name, then on to America. My grandfather had two children, my mother, and my uncle Mike (who was born severely mentally and physically handicapped and passed at the age of 14) and so my grandfather was the last male from his line. The family name would end with him. My mother wanting to honor her father and our family, gave me, the first born, our family name as my middle name, so that it may live on. When I was four, she became pregnant with my brother and I thought he should also have my middle name, and so the tradition started. When I gave birth, I gave my child our family name, and when my brother became a father, he also gave her our family name. The next generation carries our middle name, hopefully, with the same pride as my brother and I have. It ties us to our Papaw, our ancestors, our heritage, and now to younger generations. Long live… McQuiston
I used:
Pink Reptile Designs-World Geography 101
Thanks for looking!
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- Category:
- Month of Challenges 9
- Uploaded By:
- Alexandra M Meffert
- Date:
- Jan 11, 2021
- View Count:
- 183
- Comment Count:
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