Those that know me well, know that I was named Mary Suzanne Taylor when I came onto the scene in 1980. But I was always called Molly. By parents, by family, by friends, in life…at all times, I was Molly. I am Molly.
In 1998 I started my freshman year at Taylor University and was randomly paired up with a roommate named (wait for it) Martha. So yeah, our door said "Mary!" and "Martha!" on it. Oh the myriad of Bible jokes we got…"Where's your brother Lazarus??" Ok, maybe it was just that one over and over and over, but I eventually crossed out Mary and scribbled Molly on our door anyway because it was obnoxious. The first day of class (every class, every semester) I inevitably had to tell my boring tale about how I actually went by Molly and could they please update the class list and refer to me as such. It seemed like everyone always wanted there to be an interesting story as to why Molly was actually not a part of my name at all, but I had nothing to entertain them with.
At one point Taylor even thought I was two different people which got complicated for scholarships and paperwork. It was tedious and silly. So that spring, I changed my name legally and officially.
In thinking about the concept of eating, drinking, and being merry it struck me that oftentimes I'm not merry; I'm Molly. Molly is a unique name that you don't hear all that much. Although I think it is becoming one of those classic names making a comeback gaining in popularity in places (other than the dog park). Merriment makes me think of people at a long dining table swinging their mugs and singing. And I guess that is accurate when it is constantly thrown together with the ideas of eating and drinking. I've heard it said that joy comes from inside while happiness is often based on outside circumstances. I would agree with that. But I'm guilty of sometimes repressing that inner joy. It helps to have a really stinking cute kid who is ridiculous and funny every day. Hard to not be joyful when she is so much so. When I've been tempted to wallow and pull the covers over my head for the entire day, that option hasn't been on the table because of the tiny human. For that I am very grateful! Wallowing, though often a longing that I have, does not do anyone any good. I don't want to climb into a hole and pity myself. What is the point? It is all about moving forward. I did not choose this path, but it is the path we are on, and I can't wait to see what we are going to do with it!
So for now, I am going to work on being more merry while being Molly.
In 1998 I started my freshman year at Taylor University and was randomly paired up with a roommate named (wait for it) Martha. So yeah, our door said "Mary!" and "Martha!" on it. Oh the myriad of Bible jokes we got…"Where's your brother Lazarus??" Ok, maybe it was just that one over and over and over, but I eventually crossed out Mary and scribbled Molly on our door anyway because it was obnoxious. The first day of class (every class, every semester) I inevitably had to tell my boring tale about how I actually went by Molly and could they please update the class list and refer to me as such. It seemed like everyone always wanted there to be an interesting story as to why Molly was actually not a part of my name at all, but I had nothing to entertain them with.
At one point Taylor even thought I was two different people which got complicated for scholarships and paperwork. It was tedious and silly. So that spring, I changed my name legally and officially.
In thinking about the concept of eating, drinking, and being merry it struck me that oftentimes I'm not merry; I'm Molly. Molly is a unique name that you don't hear all that much. Although I think it is becoming one of those classic names making a comeback gaining in popularity in places (other than the dog park). Merriment makes me think of people at a long dining table swinging their mugs and singing. And I guess that is accurate when it is constantly thrown together with the ideas of eating and drinking. I've heard it said that joy comes from inside while happiness is often based on outside circumstances. I would agree with that. But I'm guilty of sometimes repressing that inner joy. It helps to have a really stinking cute kid who is ridiculous and funny every day. Hard to not be joyful when she is so much so. When I've been tempted to wallow and pull the covers over my head for the entire day, that option hasn't been on the table because of the tiny human. For that I am very grateful! Wallowing, though often a longing that I have, does not do anyone any good. I don't want to climb into a hole and pity myself. What is the point? It is all about moving forward. I did not choose this path, but it is the path we are on, and I can't wait to see what we are going to do with it!
So for now, I am going to work on being more merry while being Molly.