becoming a hand

Marrying Lance was the the best thing that ever happened to me.  Being married to him has been wonderful. I'm so happy spending so much time with him and creating this life together.  I always knew I'd change my last name to Hand, but the process was an interesting experience.

pronunciation. Here I was thinking people would finally know how to pronounce and spell my last name.  Hand is a noun. And a verb! It's a common word in the English language.  But I was wrong.  No one ever pronounces Tsang correctly. I always have to explain it's pronounced "sang" like tsunami (silent "t") or like "Megan sang a song".  And I'd always have to spell out my name like... "It's spelled T-sang."  So I was really excited to have an easy last name when I got married.  But when it comes to Hand it's not too different.  People seem to think my last name is Han or something random.  I went to the library and a sweet librarian was trying to help me.  He asked me what my last name was and I said "Hand", then he responded... is this you? And showed me a girl's name who's last name was Huang.  To which I responded by lifting my right hand, palm open, and pointing with my left, "Hand".  Then he caught on.  But this is pretty common.

identity. For thirty years I had my name. Megan Tsang. Then out of no where it's not, and people start to wonder, "Who is this Megan Hand person?"  Don't worry, me, too! I'm always confused what my last name is now. I get stuck whenever someone asks what my last name is.  Erm... Hand? Tsang? HandTsang? Tsang?  And I have to confess I really don't always know the answer.  It's like I'm this new person and don't know what to do with myself.  It's also very interesting to have moved when I got married because no one knows me as a Tsang here.  To everyone here I'm Meg Hand.

logistics. Changing my name has been a pain.  It's a lot of work. I never realized how many legal documents and accounts I have.  Can someone just do it for me?

business. For the past 7 years I've been running a business under my maiden name and building it up as a brand.  I am "Meg Tsang" which people often call me by.  I've made it so much of a brand people sometimes forget my name was actually "Megan" not Meg.  I haven't quite figured out what I'm doing with my business name. For now, everything is staying under my maiden name.  But it's just so interesting that you build up a name for yourself, then it an instant, it's not your name anymore.

connection. But really, I love being a Hand.  I love that it connects me to Lance and reminds me of our deep bond to each other. It shows that he's mine and I'm his. We've made this lasting commitment and becoming a Hand, in a way, seals all that for me.  I'm so proud and happy to take his name. I love being his Hand.

Our wedding picture by our fabulous photographer!