The Citizenship Chronicles, #21

OK, well, much like the interview, the whole swearing-in process went by in an emotional blur, and I really only remember bits. Like how cool the judge was, how involved and interested he seemed in the whole process. How I got a little emotional at one point during the video-taped message from the President. How I did not say the g-word during the pledge of allegiance.   

But the worst part was having to stand up in front of everybody, the staff, the 64 other applicants and their friends and family, and say my name and country of birth. Now, as most of you know, in one-on-one situations, I am an attention whore, but I hate, just hate, standing out in a crowd, so that was a nightmare for me. And because I was in the first 15 applicants, I had to do it twice, once in a practice run and once for real in front of the judge. The nice thing about being in the top 15, however, is that when we moved into the courtroom, I got to sit in the jury box. Man, those seats are comfy!

The best part was of course the celebration afterwards, at the Hilton with my peeps, L. and her friend D., and O. and her husband G. We hit the buffet and timed it perfectly, the dinnertime perks (free wine and beer) with the lunchtime price and we chatted and laughed and ate and drank (well, me and L. did; the others are lightweights when it comes to the booze).

And now it is all over (well, almost: I have to go and get a new social security card on Thursday). I am feeling a little bereft. I mean, this has been a huge part of my life for the last six months and now it is done. I guess I will just have to find something else to obsess over!