My sister sent me a time capsule of sorts. Amongst the things was a hospital bracelet from when I was a baby.
First, they spelled my mom's name wrong. And then I looked at it and realized, my name shouldn't be on it, according to what I had been told.
You know that thing, where you've been telling a story that you swear the adults told you and then this piece of evidence punctures it, and well, there are questions.
It's always a weird thing. Both figuring out that you'd been telling a story wrong, and that in many cases you were told it so long ago that no one remembers what they originally told you, or possibly isn't around to help correct the record.
The version of the story I had been telling was that my parents couldn't decide on my name, so I had papers that just said Baby Girl, and then they finally fixed it.
Now, yes, nowadays they will not let you leave the hospital without filling out all the things and they need a name, even if in some states they reserve the right to come back and tell you, no not that one.
But it seemed possible that I might have been born when these things were still a bit squishy. Also I am the oldest, and the only kid who's first name isn't a family member so it seemed like maybe that was one of the things that my parents streamlined after me.
Now of course, back when they actually gave a few days in the hospital, it's possible that the first bracelet said baby girl, and this was the second. Though I really hope they would have fixed my mom's name if they issued a second.
Also it's possible my parents meant I almost had stuff that said baby girl, but then they finally settled on a name.
And no this story doesn't fundamentally change who I am. But its odd when you find a story you've been telling just isn't correct.
