We have been discussing this for a while now.
I think we knew the time would come.
I’ve been taking steps in preparation – talking. Notifying. Planning. Writing up this post in my head. It’s been in my head for a long time now.
The stars aligned, the timing was right, and the time has indeed come.
Angus and Helen, as you know them, are no more.
I’d like you to meet Alastair.
My partner, my heart, the one who makes me both angriest and happiest (sometimes simultaneously, which is no mean feat), and the one who knows all my secrets.
And as for me…This isn’t easy for me, hence why it’s been months in the planning. The last wall to come down.
Hello. My real name is Shannon.
I guess we’re not strangers anymore.
-H/S
Hee! Shannon wasn’t even on my internal list of possible names for you.
Pleasure to meet you!
Jay
Wow. Alastair and Shannon?
Why are you coming out?
And, nice to meet you…you are the same people though right? Right?
You’re freaking me out.
Kisses to the easter bunnies, Nick and Nore*
Not their real names either right?
Donna – yup, we are the same people. Honest. The chick in all the photos I put up really is me. And the chappie in the photos with me really is him. I’m just coming out with our real names now. I’m not a balding, middle-age man in Wisconsin who writes this site (and there are people who have met me and can vouch for this.)
But correct – Nick and Nora remain pseudonyms.
Oh but you will always always be Helen in my thoughts.
You keep me on my toes. First you were Vanessa, then Helen now Shannon. Of course I love your real name since it so very close to my own. ;) I hope this does not mean you will stop blogging. I love your blog and have to get my daily fix of you, Alastair and the babies.
Since BBC America is the only channel with anything other then paid programming at the butt crack of dawn, when I get up on the weekends, I feel like I am sitting on the couch having coffee with you every Saturday and Sunday. ;)
And I am not a bald man in Wisconsin, just a bored mother who is unable to sleep due to husband’s snoring. I am from Wisconsin though. ;)
Nope, I would never have guessed Shannon to be your real name either!
I thought when I clicked on the link that you were going to tell us you two are going to get married in the near future. Or that you had already!!
Damn, I had a whole comment typed out and the spamhound rejected it gaaah
Anyways, nice to meet you Shannon, thanks for sharing your real name with us :)
I had no idea what your real name was either, but I often wondered … mind you it will take a bit of getting used to, Helen is so ingrained in my head!
Oh great, now I having nothing to laud above others in regard to personal things known about you. Bah!
Hi Alastair and Shannon:)
What an amazing Easter surprise…. love the name tags. I can vouch for your secret identities – All the way to a wine-soaked night in Paris (and back).
The Irish say the most beautiful music of all is the music of what happens. I’m always reminded of that when I read your amazing posts about your life. Your posts are like melodies, that echo long after. And this reveal, is such a crescendo after your ‘fermata’…
Thank you for sharing yourself with the world. For your courage. I admire you beyond words…
Elizabeth
Yay! It’s great to know your real names. Why this drastic decision? Pleasure to meet you anyway. :) x
for some reason I had always thought Helen was your real name but come to think of it of isn’t a very American name after all. Happy coming out day!
It’s very nice to meet you, Alastair and Shannon. :)
AH! I had Alistair down for Angus but for some reason I was convinced you were Ashley! For what it’s worth, I much prefer Shannon.
Congratulations on coming out!!!!
Pleasure to meet you both. Nice to finally put a name to a face. :)
You really are a Shannon! :-) I had a lot of ideas, but that wasn’t there and, of course, it suits you perfectly. I’m sorry for the circumstances that forced the outing, but I’m happy to know who you really are.
*smiles* Good for you. This is much better than closing up shop.
I should hope that you have decided to reveal yourselves for good healthy reasons and not because of something else. But for whatever reason, this revelation was a wonderful Easter morning surprise. Definately will be my pleasure to get to know you all over again under your given name, Shannon.
Oh my gosh! After all these years knowing you as Helen and Angus, it will take me MONTHS before I have to stop thinking, “Now which one’s Alastair again…?”
Seriously? Ha!
Tell me if you feel liberated. The concept has appealed to me many different times.
(Dawn)
Oh my gosh! I was not expecting this. I think you have said before you are not a huge fan of your first name but it has always been one of by favorites!
Hey, great to see your names. I always wondered what it is. Shannon is great. Must be quite a relief not worrying about if someone will find out now.
P.S. I suppose we’ll continue to know the Swunt, by the only name that becomes her. :)
Christopher (real name)
I’m with Pru. My Smug Privileged expression has just fallen a little…!
Wow… This is going to call for some mental rewiring because I’ve thought of you as Helen and Angus for so long! But then, it won’t change the fact that you’re the same wonderful people and that you’re the same gifted writer.
It’s a pleasure to finally meet the real you.
Nice to meet you both, Shannon and Alastair!
Gosh…in my head I think of you as ‘Helen’ – might take awhile for me to get over that.
Nice to meet you both!
It is really cool that you have decided to share your true identities with us.
All the best to you and yours
RJT
I’m with Pru and Ms. Hairy. But my husband will now be FAR less confused!
I commend your bravery. Like, a lot.
I was madly in love with a kid named Alastair in the sixth grade. He was from England. It didn’t work out.
Mostly because I was a ginormous dork.
Whatever you do, don’t give us the swunt’s real name. I just love that word too much. Swunt, swunt, swunt…
hummmmm and how do we know these names are the TRUE ones?????
What?! Your real name is not Chica?
Wow, I kinda assumed I would never know. Very nice to meet you both!
After all of these years I’ve known YOU, so while the name change might take a bit of getting used to, it will still be you.
What prompted the “coming out?”
A pleasure to meet you. Huge step. But you’ll always be Helen to me ;)
Wow so nice to meet you. You said you had a name that could go either way and I thought you were Frances for some reason. I love Shannon!
What lovely real names you have, you lucky beasts! (My name is the bane of my existence. Such a burden. Will never forgive my folks for it.)
A definite velveteen rabbit moment- becoming and being ‘real’ in the very best sense x
Yeah! I am sure it hard to come out from the protection of the pseudonym. It was very brave of you, and I am glad you did.
It is very nice to “meet” you, Shannon. Very nice indeed.
P.S. I wasn’t clever enough to come up with a pseudonym, so my name really is Stacie! :-)
Well damn. You’re the only person I know that can come out of the closet and turn it into a revolving door. Now it’s going to take forever for me to be able to reassociate yours and Angus’ (oops, I meant to say Alastair’s) names with your faces. And to think I was all comfy with thinking of you as Helen. (weeps)
Okay, I’m over it. Dave (yep, that’s still real) is pleased to meet the two of you, Alastair & Shannon. And I’m not a bald guy from Wisconsin either, just a slightly chubby guy from Georgia.
Shannon: not on my list. Alister was on my list.
Hope this means you have a book about to be published and not another reason for outing yourself. Although I seem to recall a recent post where you alluded to a co=worker happening upon your blog.
I am rally Charles and like Diamond Dave am chubby from Georgia and an Army brat.
Lovely! Now I can stop thinking of you as Helen/Shannon and just think of you as Shannon.
It’ll take me a while though.
Alastair is on our shortlist of names for this baby if it EVER comes out! I had a best friend in primary school called Shannon who’s father was an acrobatic pilot! Its lovely to meet you!
Sorry I mispelled Alastair.
Wow, Shannon! I cannot believe you took this step. Good for you! BRAVO!
And while I have not been commenting, my friend, I promise that I have been reading. The kids are adorable — so beautiful.
Please convey my very best regards to Alastair?
By the way, am I the only one who took a look at the big labels attached to your wrist and looked for the words: “Please take care of this bear”? I had a total Paddington Bear flash when I saw the pictures.
Oh my goodness, this post scared me for a minute! So love your writing, glad to meet you both!
I’ll never be able to switch over :-) Please forgive me if I keep referring to you as Helen, even though Shannon is a beautiful name.
I feel really honored that you feel ok enough to do this for us. Nice to meet you! Your real names are so… perfect. :)
OK, you might by Ag-istair and Hel-annon for awhile, but welcome!