Hey, it's me, B - Just B - Wanta know why?

Why just B?  Because I've had SO many names, and none of them have really been mine.  Crazy, huh? 

First names first - I was 11 pounds and 1 ounce when I was born.  The doctor said, "Oh, what a bonny baby" and that's what I was named.  Since I was born at home, I don't have a fancy birth certificate, just a Record of Birth, and it says Bonnie Lee.  A little while later, for some unknown reason, my mother decided I should be Bonnie Lou.  Her husband's mother was named Louisa.  I say her husband because he wasn't MY father.  I refer to him, when I do at all, as the father who wasn't my father.  Since I may have to refer to him fairly often in this post, I'll use the acronym TFWWMF.  And this makes less sense when you consider that TFWWMF left my mother when she was pregnant with me, and they divorced when I was two.  OK, just a funny aside - I was too young to prounounce Bonnie Lou and called myself Ponchy Boo - something some people in my life still like to laugh at.

A little later on in life, my mother decided I would be Bonnie Lee again, only then, according to her, it was Bonnielee - all one word, no capital L - a phrase I have said at least eight million times in my life.  My grandmother always called me Babe; I liked that.  Strangely, the family often called me McGee or McGillicutty - could have been prophetic since I grew up to be a McGuire.

At one point in life I was Bonnielee L. - something the drivers' license people did.  But to make things easier, I was referred to as Bonnie (among other things) most of my life  until about 15 years ago when I went to work for the government and found my new boss's name was Bonnie.  Being the boss, and having seniority, she made the decision I should be called something else, so Bonnielee came back to life.  Talk about an identity crisis.  During those years, that got shortened to B'Lee.

And that brings us back to the plain, old, nasty, stained Record of Birth which proclaims my last name to be Girling.  I figure that can't really be my name because TFWWMF wasn't my father, so why have his name?  Eighteen years later, I married my first husband, and gained the last name Hess - also not mine.  Then came husband number two and I got Lochhead - not mine but it stuck with me for quite a while - way longer than the marriage, and for many years people called me BL (for Bonnie Lochhead, not for Bonnie Lee).  Oh yeah, and B with Lochhead became Blockhead quite often.  After that, I lived for years with a man I didn't marry, but people often called me Mrs. Everett - REALLY, really not my name.  He called me Bunny.  And then came this husband, Victor, and yet another new name - McGuire.  I've had this one for 18 years now and will be keeping it, but it's not MY name.

Three and a half months ago, my life was enriched by a new step-grandson and God only knows what HE will call me.  Is it any wonder why, now, I'm just B : ) ??? 

Just a little disclaimer here:  because I was, shall we say not planned, discussing family history was not encouraged (well actually it just NEVER happened), so my version of how Bonnie Lee became one word may be wrong, but that's how I remember it and I'm sticking to it. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Stay tuned, it could get interesting.   B : )