Me? Like countless others, I invent hashtags for my own purpose. My latest invention:
#cathy-ism
The first question someone with the name Cathy usually gets is "Is that with a C or a K?" The name Cathy has unique history for me. When I was born the labor and delivery nurse actually argued with my mother over the spelling of my name, insisting that I should be named Katherine or Cathleen. Apparently the woman had a career going for her, as a similar argument ensued when my sister Vicki was born.
My parent's logic was simple: "We'll end up calling her Cathy, so that's what we want on the certificate." The nurse, however, had the last say as it turned out. When I was 15, I had to obtain a certified copy of my birth certificate to take to the DMV so I could get my learner's permit. My Aunt Fran graciously went to the county offices and mailed a copy of not only my birth certificate, but each of my sisters. Upon examining the document, I made a discovery. There it was, microfiched, photocopied, and certified by the county and state, spelled out cleanly in black and white, my name:
Kathy Marie White
WHAT!?!? A "K" Kathy, not a "C" Cathy? Yes. That is how it is spelled on my birth certificate. My parents filled out an affidavit to correct the spelling from the argumentative nurse's rendering of "Kathy" to the parent-preferred spelling, "Cathy." Despite having completed the form and going through the trouble of having it notarized, the document was never actually returned to the Department of Records to fix the record.
My mother gave me the original, signed, and fully notarized affidavit for the name change request that they had filled out. The certified birth certificate and the affidavit, notarized but not filed, rendered "Cathy" on my learner's permit and subsequently my drivers license. It was also in that moment that I realized something unique and humorous about myself.
I have been misspelling my first name my entire life. #cathy-ism
From the time I learned to write letters and assemble them together to spell my name, I have written "Cathy". According to the official records, that is not the correct spelling.
Through my school years there were always one or two others who carried the moniker Cathy or Kathy. Or Cathryn or Kathleen. Spell it any which way you want, we Cathy's of the world seem to have our own unique take on things, not too unlike a well known cartoon strip counterpart. My senior year in high school yielded a sweetheart who had a sister who was named Kathy. Among gatherings with his family, and due to the different spelling (okay, my misspelling versus her accurate spelling), we quickly became known as "Kathy-with-a-K" and "Cathy-with-a-C".
Fast forward to nine years ago, I acquired a bonus-daughter with similar name and keeping with the "C", by marrying a man who has a daughter named Catherine. That brings us to present day and my current job. I work part time at two elementary school districts in a small town doing the nuts-to-bolts technical support from tablets and computers to the network. What's the big deal? I'm not the only Cathy on campus. Not terribly unusual - or is it?
There is not one Cathy, not two Kathy's, but FIVE. Count them - FIVE Cathy's (or Kathy's or Kathie's or Cathi's) on each campus I work at. We all work within 300 yards of each other, and often a number of us can be found in the same room at the same time. Considering there are no more than 50 employees at each campus, there is a high concentration of Cathy-to-non-Kathy personnel.
Is that Cathy with a "C" or a "K"?
Will I file the notarized affidavit with the state one day and correct the spelling of my first name? Yes, eventually, someday as to avoid legal SNAFU's and ease the research work for a future geneaologist. For now I like the novelty of it - and the amusement.
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