So many months have slipped by trailing so much news. For a writer, it seems that each day was crammed with so many storylines. Spoilt for choice, too lethargic to make a decision on the theme for the day, months slipped by.  There were so many stories in my head.

My house search all year was such hard work emotionally as well as physically taking up all my free time.  Each new listing raised expectations but the fall-out from frustrated hopes made it harder to keep the sense of adventure and hope.  Eventually I found the house of my dreams .I invested much time in shopping for the new place. I felt that after a year of being without my own home, I could be rooted again.  Two weeks before moving in, my second expert advised against it.  Despite the cost, I felt that the only prudent action was to withdraw but I’ve left a bit of my heart on the hill side.

Somehow, I made room for the extra stuff I had bought in preparation for the move and unpacked my crockery that was in packing cases for over seven years.  I know that when I do find a house, I can never pack it all up as the professional packers who transported it so safely across the seas. Yet the convenience of having it all packed up could not compare to the comfort of having it displayed now. I changed the dominant color of my furnishings to red and lifted my mood with a spirit of thankfulness. I have shelter and space. Life is good.

The process of becoming a citizen ended in a somber ceremony in the Federal courthouse. Ladies from Charleston provided refreshment and civic groups very thoughtfully provided us with the US flag, a description of how it should be used, the pledge, a summary of the amendments. There was also a letter from the President. Of course, my fellow citizens and I had passed the Civic test but to be given these in such an accessible way was truly thoughtful. The guest speaker’s passion made me tearful. True, I had not come on a dangerous journey to escape persecution or for religious or economic freedom.  I love the country of my nationality, its culture, its institutions, its health service and its peoples. So why leave?  Because home is where the heart is. For me it became unsustainable to live so far away from those I truly love.

I had agonized over the oath of allegiance. To me, it is not a form of words but a God-given pledge to be loyal to the flag above all else.  I played with different scenarios when I might have to choose. Yet my choice will never be in doubt because as painful as it might be my availability to family remains my greatest motivation. After all love of family, love of country is fundamental values. We are expected to treat foreigners well but there is also a divine directive for the alien to pray for the welfare of his “city”. God bless our state. God bless every state of our precious Union.

 So many months have slipped by trailing so much news. For a writer, it seems that each day was crammed with so many storylines. Spoilt for choice, too lethargic to make a decision on the theme for the day, months slipped by.  There were so many stories in my head.

My house search all year was such hard work emotionally as well as physically taking up all my free time.  Each new listing raised expectations but the fall-out from frustrated hopes made it harder to keep the sense of adventure and hope.  Eventually I found the house of my dreams .I invested much time in shopping for the new place. I felt that after a year of being without my own home, I could be rooted again.  Two weeks before moving in, my second expert advised against it.  Despite the cost, I felt that the only prudent action was to withdraw but I’ve left a bit of my heart on the hill side.

Somehow, I made room for the extra stuff I had bought in preparation for the move and unpacked my crockery that was in packing cases for over seven years.  I know that when I do find a house, I can never pack it all up as the professional packers who transported it so safely across the seas. Yet the convenience of having it all packed up could not compare to the comfort of having it displayed now. I changed the dominant color of my furnishings to red and lifted my mood with a spirit of thankfulness. I have shelter and space. Life is good.

The process of becoming a citizen ended in a somber ceremony in the Federal courthouse. Ladies from Charleston provided refreshment and civic groups very thoughtfully provided us with the US flag, a description of how it should be used, the pledge, a summary of the amendments. There was also a letter from the President. Of course, my fellow citizens and I had passed the Civic test but to be given these in such an accessible way was truly thoughtful. The guest speaker’s passion made me tearful. True, I had not come on a dangerous journey to escape persecution or for religious or economic freedom.  I love the country of my nationality, its culture, its institutions, its health service and its peoples. So why leave?  Because home is where the heart is. For me it became unsustainable to live so far away from those I truly love.

I had agonized over the oath of allegiance. To me, it is not a form of words but a God-given pledge to be loyal to the flag above all else.  I played with different scenarios when I might have to choose. Yet my choice will never be in doubt because as painful as it might be my availability to family remains my greatest motivation. After all love of family, love of country is fundamental values. We are expected to treat foreigners well but there is also a divine directive for the alien to pray for the welfare of his “city”. God bless our state. God bless every state of our precious Union.

 So many months have slipped by trailing so much news. For a writer, it seems that each day was crammed with so many storylines. Spoilt for choice, too lethargic to make a decision on the theme for the day, months slipped by.  There were so many stories in my head.

My house search all year was such hard work emotionally as well as physically taking up all my free time.  Each new listing raised expectations but the fall-out from frustrated hopes made it harder to keep the sense of adventure and hope.  Eventually I found the house of my dreams .I invested much time in shopping for the new place. I felt that after a year of being without my own home, I could be rooted again.  Two weeks before moving in, my second expert advised against it.  Despite the cost, I felt that the only prudent action was to withdraw but I’ve left a bit of my heart on the hill side.

Somehow, I made room for the extra stuff I had bought in preparation for the move and unpacked my crockery that was in packing cases for over seven years.  I know that when I do find a house, I can never pack it all up as the professional packers who transported it so safely across the seas. Yet the convenience of having it all packed up could not compare to the comfort of having it displayed now. I changed the dominant color of my furnishings to red and lifted my mood with a spirit of thankfulness. I have shelter and space. Life is good.

The process of becoming a citizen ended in a somber ceremony in the Federal courthouse. Ladies from Charleston provided refreshment and civic groups very thoughtfully provided us with the US flag, a description of how it should be used, the pledge, a summary of the amendments. There was also a letter from the President. Of course, my fellow citizens and I had passed the Civic test but to be given these in such an accessible way was truly thoughtful. The guest speaker’s passion made me tearful. True, I had not come on a dangerous journey to escape persecution or for religious or economic freedom.  I love the country of my nationality, its culture, its institutions, its health service and its peoples. So why leave?  Because home is where the heart is. For me it became unsustainable to live so far away from those I truly love.

I had agonized over the oath of allegiance. To me, it is not a form of words but a God-given pledge to be loyal to the flag above all else.  I played with different scenarios when I might have to choose. Yet my choice will never be in doubt because as painful as it might be my availability to family remains my greatest motivation. After all love of family, love of country is fundamental values. We are expected to treat foreigners well but there is also a divine directive for the alien to pray for the welfare of his “city”. God bless our state. God bless every state of our precious Union.