identity crisis

How about a space filler?  About my second born child?

When he was born we named him FirstName Alexander LastName, and then promptly began calling him Alex.  We had always planned to call him Alex, but the combo of names that we had picked out just flowed better when arranged in the order we chose. 

We always had to correct the new nurses at the doctor's office who would call him by his FirstName, but everyone else knew that his name was Alex.  When he got to first grade, there were FIVE Alex's in his first grade class.  Alex B, Alex P, Alex S, Alex T, and Alex W.  We contemplated switching to his first name, but Alex he remained.  About third grade, his teacher (of all people!) began referring to him by our last name, even though most of the other Alex's had gone on to other places.  For some reason, that stuck, and so all of his friends started calling him by our last name. 

All was well until he entered High School.  Even though we wrote his nickname on the registration papers, and had the secretary make note of it in the computer, he became FirstName in the big new world of high school.  It was the name that the computer spit out on class rosters, and he did not correct it.  When I went for open house, and introduced myself as "Alex's Mom", the teacher's looked at me like I had two heads.  They didn't know who I was talking about. 

The other day, he comes to me and says, "Mom, when people ask me what my name is, I don't know what to tell them....I have to think before I answer...I look kind of stupid.  People look at me like - what...you don't know your name??"  He has a great sense of humor, so it is funny when he says it.  But true.  People from high school know him as FirstName.  Family, church, and BoyScouts know him as Alex.  And friends from his Catholic school years know him as LastName.

Sometimes I just call him "A".  I love you, A!