Pork, the other MH

Right before I got married last year I decided to see who would carry on the "Michelle Harbst" name to ensure it would be survived by someone worthy of sharing a name with me. To my horror and alarm there is another MH (see pic below) however she and I are quit different, to say the least.

For me, the Harbst last name is more than just the end of me being single. I am the last of my family line. As my Father tells me, "you were supposed to be a boy". Oops. Sorry about that. I had promised my Father at my sister's wedding that I would hyphenate my last name when I married however I no longer plan on doing that. I could come up with some logical reasons but for practical sake I don't want to have to spell out two last names every time I leave a phone message or have to write a check. Plus that only does any good if my kids, boys-in-particular, continue to keep the Harbst in their last name. Sooner or later we'll be an Indian tribe with 16 last names. That's just too much work and there's not enough room on the family tree for all that writing.

I do feel bad though because I did promise my dad. But then I consider both my older sisters and their surnames and really, they should have done this rather than leave it to a last-resort. In my temporary defense, legally, I still am a Harbst because I haven't changed my social security, drivers license or any of my financial obligations to Martin. And besides all of that, Martin isn't even the real family last name. It was changed when Eric's Grandfather moved here from Romania and couldn't get a job without a more "American" sounding surname so they changed it. It was Maladene, which in my opinion, is better. But I've only been in this family for 8 months so I don't think it's my place to change over 60 years of family heritage just yet.

Introducing the other MH... and no her hair is not pulled back in a pony tail, it's shaved.