It's not about me

My Life as a Worm

I love my last name.  Mostly because it was my father's name.  It's the one thing he left me that can't be taken away.  He's no longer here...he died when I was two-years-old.  I actually didn't know I had this name until I was ten because my mother had remarried when I was so young and she had me and my two brothers use my stepfather's last name, even though he never adopted us.  That was ok, but you can imagine my surprise when I had to learn how to spell my real last name.
 
We were going abroad and I had to sign my passport with my real name.  I asked my mother where it came from (she had NEVER talked about my father), and finally she told us, me and brothers. This just made me curious and I wanted to know more about my real father.

All the moments that I thought were dreams, were actual memories from my little two-year-old mind about my father!  My mother finally confessed this to me saying that she was amazed I had any memory about him at all. They had really happened, they were not dreams!  Whew!!  As an adult now, I find it fascinating that a child that little could actually remember events, even if they were a little vague.  So there's a good argument for anyone who says a baby will forget....NOT!
 
I started getting  used to my new-old name...W-o-r-m-i-n-g-t-o-n.   Worrrm...innng...ton!  Wormington!  Cool!  It had pizzaz, it was different, and it had a great "swing" to it. Worm...ing...ton!

According to my mother, I still had to go by my stepfather's name so everyone would think we were all the same family.  I didn't know a name could make you NOT a family!  (Good subject for a blog) But I used the other name instead of Wormington.  I would still practice writing it in my notebook over and over again. Wormington, Wormington, Wormington.

Then later in life as fate would have it, or rather the law, I got my first driver's license and had to use my REAL name!  Mom didn't like it and the school was confused as hell because I was still going by my stepfather's name.  I couldn't help but get excited when I looked at my picture on my driver's license and underneath, it said:  Carla Wormington.  It was official, even though it had always been my real name, it was now official for me.

I've been a Wormington now for most of my life, even though in actuality, I've always been a Wormington.  It's not a very common name.  Actually I'm the only Wormington in the state where I live.  How cool is that!  I used to get really upset with people when they misspelled my name.  How tough can it be???  W-o-r-m-i-n-g-t-o-n.  Just like it sounds...Worm--ing--ton!  Easy!  Getting upset about it didn't help, and people would just get annoyed at me for them misspelling my name! So figured I needed a new way to communicate.
 
The next time I told someone my name and they spelled it as, Warmington, I told them, "NO....my name has a WORM in it, not warm!  You know...those slimmy little things you fish with!"  I looked at her with a big, cheery smile.  The shock on her face was fantastic!  She choked and with a nervous laugh said, "Oh, I'm sorry.  Ha ha that's cute."

"I'll bet you won't forget it the next time will you," I laughed.   She just looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and didn't say a thing.
 
So that's how a Worm was born.  I still use the same line all the time....My name is not warm or worth!  It has a WORM in it!  A WORM!  Every time I say it, I visualize this little slimy worm looking back at me with big black eyes...grinning. Best of all everyone remembers my name after the worm lesson.

The Worm thing has caught on a lot better than I imagined.  I now have a few friends that refer to me as "Worm."  I've gotten so used to it, I even respond!  I love the Worm....I love the name Wormington....I love that it connects me to my dad.  Worm, Worm, Worm...Wormington.
So today when I stopped somewhere and had to give my name to them, they asked me....

"So how do you spell, Carla, with a C or K?"   
HUH????