February 27, 2008 | 5:06 pm

Being the Mrs.

Posted by Mrs. Shoshana F

Last Monday I had a slight identity crisis. I was at a temple Sisterhood meeting when a file folder was passed around. If you owed money for ordering birthday and anniversary cards, you looked up your name, noted the balance due and put in a check.

When the folder reached me, I pulled out my checkbook and searched through to find my envelope. It wasn’t there. At first I thought maybe I didn’t owe any money – but I knew I had sent a few tributes.

Then it hit me: My envelope moved to a different letter. Sure enough, the one with my name on it was now in the “F” section based on my married name, not my maiden name—where I had originally been searching for it. My maiden name had been crossed out and the married name put in its place.

Later, when a sign-up sheet to help at the Women’s seder was passed around, I wrote my maiden and married name on it. I figured it was one thing for me to get used to it, it was quite another for my friends to keep seeing it.

I’ve been trying to use my married name more and more, but since I am not legally changing it, I have to check when I sign up for things which name I can use – more often than not, using both names is not a problem (like the “win a Disney Cruise ” contest I signed up for this morning).

On Feb., 14, my husband and I spent our first Valentine’s Day as Mr. and Mrs. – which meant I got to buy his card from an entirely different section at Hallmark: The “To My Husband” zone. (Amazingly enough, the “to my wife” section was totally intact, while the husband section looked like a hurricane had hit it.)

When we went to our favorite restaurant that night for dinner, the owner looked at us and said: “It’s the Fs!” And I got a warm feeling in my heart.

Last weekend I attended a Spirituality Day event at our synagogue – it was the first time my full name has been on a tag since we were married in October.

Being an “old married lady” is quite a kick. You seem to achieve this knowledge about life – other married women look at you differently. You are thought of as a peer. Others turn to you for advice. You become a guru — but without the chanting.

However, no matter what, I’m still me – just with a longer name … and a more squished name tag.

February 25, 2008 | 7:35 pm

Newlyweds in TV land

Posted by Mrs. Shoshana F

While watching an episode of “Lost” recently, my husband and I caught a promo that made us take notice:

On March 2 at 10 (ET/PT), ABC is starting a show called “Here Come the Newlyweds” where seven couples will try to win a ton of money to kickstart their life.

My husband turned to me and said—how come we didn’t try out for that?

I looked at him and said: You honestly want to be on TV in front of millions of people? We didn’t even want guests to see our house until we put away the wedding gifts.

Looks like an interesting show. Will you be watching?

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February 16, 2008 | 11:04 pm

Like ‘sands through the hourglass’ . . .

Posted by Mrs. Shoshana F

Welcome to the Jewlyweds blog. Having navigated through Tales of a Jewish Bride-to-Be, there is a whole new world that needs a map, a compass and a bottle of Arrowhead. Luckily, this time I get to chart a new path with my husband.

As we start this journey, I have to confess something:

I was wrong. So very wrong. I thought after the wedding was over, my husband and I would have plenty of time to just relax and enjoy without having to meet with vendors or pick out things for our registries or deal with an ever-growing guest list.

What an idiot I was. Before I was engaged, my life was jam-packed with events and meetings and family and errands and travel. Why in the world would I think that after my insane life became a part of my husband’s insane life that it all would be any easier?

I blame pop culture. With the exception of “Father of the Bride II,” you don’t get sequels to wedding movies. I’d like to see “While You Were Sleeping 2: All the Stuff I Did While You Were Still in Bed”; “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2”: The Family Comes for Dinner – Again”; or “When Harry Met Sally 2: Life on the Side.”

This weekend we have family in town; the weekend after we are free – as far as I know, for the moment, I think. The week after, my husband is off to bring technology to the Heartland. Then the following weekend we have a conference. Not to mention Purim and Pesach-related activities. I think things will start to slow down after that – but as I noted above, I’ve been wrong before. I’d love to know if other newlyweds feel the same.

Forget about a wedded bliss weekend – we’re looking for five minutes where we don’t have to be somewhere or do something. If you can send us five minutes of your time, we’re starting up a collection.

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