My Last Name Is Not Whimfield
Posted on 03. Oct, 2010 by Laura-Jane - Whimfield in Inspirations, Life Dream, Personal
Mrs. Whimfield?
It was recently brought to my attention that Whimfield (this blog) has been used as an example in a Canadian University’s MLA citation style guide. I am touched to be on there! To whomever compiled the guide, “Hello” and a friendly squeeze from the land of Whimfield. (And if you’re reading this please do not change a thing.)
In the style guide, I am cited as an author: Laura-Jane Whimfield. As you probably know, my last name is not Whimfield. My last name is, in fact, Koers.
In many ways, I can understand why someone might make such an assumption. Because at this blog I speak to all things Whimfield, only. I speak to country living, snow, fields, and all that good stuff. In many ways we are the Whimfields.
But I am not Mrs. Whimfield! In fact, I am so many Mrs. that I could never just choose one name. Mrs. Whimfield is just a piece of me. We are all pieces put together. There are some pieces of us that we cannot change, but the majority of who we are is up to us.
“Whimfield” is a name that Cameron and I invented in a dingy hotel room in 2008. We were about to take possession of our new house on Prince Edward Island, and we wanted to give our life, our house, our dream a name. We chose “Whimfield.”
Please, if you ever doubt that your future is in your control take this message to heart from Mrs. Whimfield. We invented a name for ourselves, and we became The Whimfields.
Have you given yourself a name yet?
Jane
Oct 3rd, 2010
I am glad that Mrs. Whimfield is only one piece of who you are because when I hear that name I think of a small, white-haired kindly-looking woman pouring tea for the village vicar in her overgrown rose-filled English garden. My, one name can evoke a lot can it not??
Michael and I named our property over by Alberton – it just seemed like the thing to do. We call it Crofters Lane because: we want to lead as self-sustaining lifestyle as possible like the crofters did over the past centuries in Scotland and our laneway is half a kilometer long and we wanted to pay tribute to that fact as one of our daily rituals this past summer was to walk to the end of the laneway and back every morning with a cup of coffee.
For a great part (20 years) of my life I had no name at all! As a mother I became known as “Kazi’s mom” and that’s what her friends would call me as in “Kazi’s mom….can I use your bathroom?” I’m sure most mothers can relate:)
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Kim
Oct 3rd, 2010
Ah, that’s so perfect …
Johanna
Oct 3rd, 2010
We are not the sum of what we are called but the sum of what we have experienced.
Mother
Sister
Wife
Dreamer
Planner
but the name I like most is being loved.
Hugs
Matt Edgett
Oct 4th, 2010
I always imagined that the name Whimfield was referring to the nature of your eastward journey — how you packed up and moved across country almost on a whim. I pictured you and Cam discussing it:
“The House of Pick-up-and-Go?”
“How about Larkfield? You know, because we did it on a lark.”
Etcetera, etcetera.
I keep telling Becky that our house is called “Revolution House,” because it’s Number 9. Number 9. Number 9….
Like the Beatles song.
So far, it hasn’t caught on.
Gary
Oct 5th, 2010
Hi LJ (Mrs. Whimfild)
Who knew that you would go down in history as Laura Jane Whimfield the author.
Actually it sounds so right that if I ever got the chance to read a book (any book) by Laura Jane Whimfield I do believe that I would be just compelled to do so.
There are so few GREAT authors in the world with wonderful names like Lucy Maude Montgomery that you can hear the very trees calling out their heartfelt desire to read such works.
I have never used it but the secret name that has always been a part of me is David Grayson. There, I have divulged a personal secret that has remained so nigh to 60 years.
There is a work that is forming in my creative brain. A fictional work based on reality with real places and people. A work designed to stimulate and challenge young minds.
Now, thanks to your post, I shall now know from whom this work will issue forth.
Descriptive words in my brain are forming long forgotten pictures of my youth. Pictures of events that replaced my childish games with knowledge of a world that lies beyond the confines of my circle of home.
Fishing at the dam in our sleepy community and spending a Saturday evening with friends wandering about our village will never feel the same again.
Write with your heart Laura Jane Whimfield, write with your emotions and your feelings. Write with your very essence, but write! Give your gift of writing to the world. I say, write!
John Quimby
Oct 7th, 2010
I love this post and the way you explore the nature of name and identity.
After we bought our home on PEI, locals would ask us where we lived.
We’d mention the couple we bought it from.
No response.
We’d mention the owner before that.
Long pause.
“Oh you mean Willie Dunn’s Place.”
Yes. That’s what I mean.
Right, Mrs Whimfield?
Elijah-Blue
Oct 8th, 2010
I’ve always battled with my name. When I was a child I preferred “Eli” because “Elijah” was just too weird and uncommon (which doesn’t sit well with children).
Then I began to discover throughout high school and my later 20’s that Elijah-Blue was a name with many possibilities and directions.
Some people call me Elijah. Some people call me Blue. Though technically both are my first names, they are sometimes enemies.
Usually the best of friends…
warren
Oct 8th, 2010
I don’t think I have given myself a name so much as a description. I find that I am restless. My wife calls me annoying but I seem to remain in a constant state of agitation…but in a good way. I sort of think it keeps me exploring and curious…and I think it fits!