So Now I Have to Admit I'm Married to Him...

This has been a pretty interesting week.  Why I've been such a slacker about blogging about it, I couldn't really say, just lazy this week I guess.  :)

The fun started Wednesday after a long day at work when I got a call from my husband that didn't start out well:

"You're not going to like this."  (Not a good sign.)  "Wells Fargo needs you to go to the Social Security Office tomorrow and change your name."

WHAT?!?!?! 

I've been married to my husband for nearly seven years.  I didn't really start out with the plan not to take his last name, it's just kind of what happened.  At the time, I was just finishing up college and I didn't want to confuse my student loans or the registrars office with a name change during my last year.  So I left things alone and as a result my college diploma has my last name on it, which I'm pretty happy about.  I probably should have changed my name after graduating, but who really wants to go to the social security office and the DMV?  No one.  So I kind of just left it and figured I'd do it before I had a kid so I'd have the same last name as my child.  Well, having that kid took a bit longer than anticipated, and by the time he finally arrived, I was feeling pretty confident in leaving my last name alone.  It had been my last name for so long why mess with a good thing?

Apparently Wells Fargo felt the need to mess with a good thing.

We're refinancing our mortgage this month (yay for saving $200 a month!!) and apparently Wells Fargo is confused that I don't have my husband's last name.  They won't let me do an "aka" on the loan and since the deed was prepared with my husband's last name on there, I was actually required by Wells Fargo Bank to take my husband's last name.

So I did it.  I grumbled a bit, but it's not something I really mind.  Sure my husband's last name is longer, and sure it has that damn capital "D" in the middle interrupting the flow of the word, but what are you gonna do?  It's not a bad last name, so I'll take.

Thursday morning Ben and I went to the Social Security Office.  We took our number, a la deli counter style, and sat down to wait.  There were fifteen windows in that office for helping customers.  Obviously, only one was open.  So we waited, and waited, and said "Hi" to everyone else waiting (Ben is in a SUPER friendly stage right now) and waited some more.  Forty minutes later our number was called and we went to the window.  Five minutes later, the lady at the window handed me back my papers, gave me a receipt, and congratulated me on my wedding...seven years ago.

Success!

Or so I thought.  Apparently Wells Fargo doesn't trust me.  I gave them my receipt, which was signed by the lady at the Social Security Office, but apparently that's not good enough.  I could have forged that.  Because that's what I do.  I forge stupid Social Security documents so I can close loans in my maiden name and stick it to the man.  Yup.  They caught me.  Seriously though, they wanted me to have a "stamp" on my receipt from the Social Security Office.  A stamp.  AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!  So Friday morning I called the Social Security Office and BEGGED them to send something to Wells Fargo saying I did in fact GO to the office and CHANGE MY NAME.  They sent a letter for me and with a little luck, Wells Fargo will believe them.  It's on official letterhead after all....(sigh).....

So yes, I've officially changed my name.  Now I just need a trip to the DMV and the bank and I'll be good to go.  And then I have to change my facebook status...but that's like, really official, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that...maybe in another seven years.....