I’ve been deliberating about my married name. At first it seemed simple. Before he’d even proposed, both R and I loosely assumed I would take his name; I liked the romance of it, felt my typical longing to belong. It seemed such a fait accomplis that we readily registered Orla at birth with his Irish
Parenting
baby changing
A strange sadness, to leave the house Orla knows so well. She’s splashed in this bath since her very first week; she knows which wobbly floorboards to skip, as she leads my by the hand to bed. She knows where the raisins are kept, and the way to the park, and the best windows to