So 8.30 this morning found me sitting in the INS office [I guess technically they now call themselves the CIS office] waiting for my naturalization interview. I had studied and reviewed those civics questions, and by golly I was going to get them all right! [Of course you, dear reader, already know how many House of Representatives there are, right?] I was quite relieved to have the quiz be the 1st part of the process. But a mere 6 questions into it the guy interviewing me was ready to move on to the next part. [You’d better believe I called him on it! We were done with the civics quiz? Already?!] But he said he had what he needed there, so we could move on. And 15 minutes later – about 4 of which he spent making photocopies – we were done. In just 15 minutes it was all over. No drama. No dragging on for hours. No thunder and lightning. Last night I went to bed a Zimbabwean; tonight I’m going to sleep as an American. Wow.
For anyone who’s ever been through an immigration process it is sometimes hard not to feel a little like a second class citizen. Sometimes the treatment given by the staff is less than courteous. Half the time the hours the offices are open are less than ideal. And everything takes FOREVER! So when I finally decided to become a US citizen, I must admit I was expecting the same slow, half-hearted experience. Not so! Less than a month after I sent in my naturalization application I received a letter acknowledging receipt and notifying me that the process would be complete in 6 months. 4 months later – today, in fact - I was sworn in as an American.
I hardly have the words to express the …awe?...that I’m feeling. It’s one thing to talk about becoming an American; it’s another to actually stand there before God and family and swear that I will bear arms to protect the United States if it is asked of me. In that instance I actually paused and had a “MO”ment, it was that surreal. The lady who officiated our swearing-in ceremony said it best: while she is an American by chance, effective today I am an American by choice.
To my husband Scott, a heartfelt and sincere thank you. Our conversations on this topic have gone from: “what are you, nuts?! Why on earth would I want to be a US citizen?!” to today, when I am overwhelmed by the honor that has been bestowed upon me. There is much that doesn’t work in this country, but so much more that does. And how lucky am I, today, to be able to live here freely without having had to be a stow-away in a ship or worse to accomplish it. It is a very special husband who can understand why it was important for me to come to the decision to be a US citizen in my own way, in my own time. So with much love and respect, I tip my hat off to you, Scott!
Dazed and a little punchy, I am off to bed. It was a good day, today was. And so a new chapter in the Mo book opens – Citizen Mo, American By Choice. Ain’t that grand!