The Day I Became American

My husband likes to tell me that I’ve always been American since, technically, I do come from a North American country. But today, I officially became an American from the United States.

At 7:30 this morning, Jeff and I drove to the Frontier Culture Museum, in Staunton, to partake in the official naturalization ceremony. I had a short scare when everyone was called, one by one, to signed their certificate and my name wasn’t called. Thankfully, on the second round (since some people had missed the first round), I heard my name, absolutely relieved. We still aren’t sure if I just didn’t hear it (my last name is hard to pronounce so it rarely sounds like it should) or if the paper got moved around during the process. The good news is that I finally got to sign my certificate and hand over my now-useless green card. Two hours later, the outdoor ceremony started and by noon, I was officially a citizen, greeted by the judge who mentioned, as he shook my hand, that my cold hands must be a sign of a warm heart. His remark was sweet but I really was freezing… was I already loosing my Canadian blood?

After the ceremony, I told my husband that I wanted an all-American meal. There was a cute little diner in Staunton that I had been meaning to try out for a while so I figured it would be the perfect place to go. Wright’s Dairy-Rite was indeed awesome. The restaurant exists since 1952 and as soon as you enter, you are taken back in time.

Jukebox, sparkly plastic-leather booths, and best of all, you have to use the phone at your table to place your order! Needless to say, I loved it! I already knew that my first meal as an American would be a burger and fries and I was at the best place for it.

So yes, I’m American now. And I am happy to remind my husband 24/7 with the many variations on “Is this what Americans do in this situation?”, “Should I accept this idea as an American?” and, of course, “Will the cats recognize me now that I’m American?”. He is annoyed and I am giddy. This is definitely a good day in our home. 🙂