Sitting at court waiting for our official divorce decree after our divorce was announced official, I turned to my ex and said, “I’m sorry about the whole last name thing.”
“No worries. You don’t have to be sorry. I understand.”
When you divorce with kids, it’s not unusual for moms to claim they would like the same last name as their children. I cannot say I blame them, although that’s not the choice I made. I considered it for a second, but the truth is, even when I got married I did not want to change it. I wanted to stay Lifshitz. It felt archaic to me to change my last name and I had earned so many victories and defeats with my maiden name. I had lived an interesting life as a Lifshitz. I had a life as a TV personality. A life as a student. A life as a comedienne. A life as a little half-Jewish girl who occasionally, got poked fun of because her last name had the word “sh*t” in it. Did that derail me? Nope! Not this sassy girl and now woman, but a lot of life had gone on as a Lifshitz.
Read More: Taking Back My Maiden Name After Divorce: Is it the Right Thing?
Becoming Me Again, Only Better,
I pondered what to do as well. Decided to wait until my youngest was at least 18. When he was 19, I pulled the lever. It worked well for me.