kitt

I few months ago, I asked my mom to send me pictures of me as a child. I had read about a woman who, when she was frustrated and angry with herself, would pull out a picture of herself as a child and ask herself if she would be so angry with this child? We are our own worst critics, sure, but the negative self destructive aggression inward certainly doesn't help anyone.

And, oh boy, do we know how hard I can judge myself.

When writing up goals for the month yesterday, I suggested we write a goal for each other. Mom agreed, and wrote "meditate for 15 minutes daily AWAY FROM THE DOGS" on my card. Yeah, that was her emphasis. My mom - she's one smart cookie.

One of my goals for her was to send me those pictures. She does that, and I can cross that off one of my cards, too. Win-Win.

Well, she sent me them in spades.

I showed Kris a couple, and told him, "If you had seen this picture 10 years ago, maybe you'd have wanted kids." He gave me that little "believe what you want, woman" shrug, but I know my cuteness won him over. I mean, really, how can you be angry at this?

Unlike probably 99% of the world (a statistic I just now pulled out of my, uh, thin air), I have, as far as I can tell, a unique name. My last name is a bastardization of a more common name. No one in my family can recite to me the family tree so far back that the name has actually changed, but the general consensus is that it's some variation of Hodgson.

Sure, there are some very common names in my family's past, names like Brady and Rose. In our current household, though, McQueen is the most common name (1 person and two dogs), with Hodsden being not-so-common. Even outside of the house Hodsden is a pretty uncommon name.

So, pair an uncommon last name with an uncommon first name, and you end up with one of me.

Which isn't to say there aren't people with similar names. There's a Kit Hodson out there. And a Kit Hudson (the director of "Captain N & the Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3" no less!). And a tonne of Kit Hodgsons out there. So many of those Hodgsons, I tell you.

So, finding me is really easy. You can misspell my last name, you can still find me if you spell my first name right:

My name is unique (especially if you stick that damn M in the front), so, yeah, I'm findable.

So, when I come across friends with an online presence who have to directly address the fact that other people have the same name as they do, I actually have to pause.

Wait.

Other people have the same name as you?

Of course, there are other khodsdens out there, stealing my default username when kitt has been taken. There's a Keith out there. And a Krista.

When I meet people with the same last name as I, a few minutes chatting with them, followed by a phone call to my dad or aunt, usually results in an easy trace to our common ancestor, not so far back in the family tree. I've met the wife of my second cousin twice removed, working at my doctor's office of all places. My dad seems to know all of the ones who live out here in California. It's spooky.

I do have to wonder, though, how easy is it to disappear into a crowd if you're all named the same name? Finding one particular Heather Brown, or Paul Nelson, or David Weekly, or Andy Crews in a crowd is a hell of a lot harder than finding a Kitt Hodsden. And don't even think about trying to find the right Mark Schmidt or Mark Rubin. Not going to happen. Hell, there are even several Kris McQueens, and not all of them male.

There are times when I look at my name and have to wonder. How the hell did I end up with such a crazy name? Sometimes it's kinda cool. Other times, it's just weird.

I'm so lucky that Kris lets me keep pictures like this of him.

Of course, I have to balance it with pictures like this, of my nose smooshed.

Andy, on the other hand, never takes a bad picture.

And, yes, the ice cream shake WAS tasty.