So........when we woke up this morning, there was about three inches of snow on the ground, and it kept right on coming. Perfect. One of the most important days of my life in 2009, and we're having inclement weather. Figures. Murphey's Law, and all that.
My appointment was today. My appointment at the United States Citizen and Immigration Services office in Seattle. To have my fingerprints taken.
When a semi-truck and two cars had a little tumble on I-5, I honestly thought we weren't going to make it, but we did.
They ushered us in, we went through security, I was given a number, I filled out a form, my number was called, I handed in the form, walked into a special room, was given another number, then that number was called, and some guy who couldn't have been older than 18 took my hand, and pressed the living whatever out of it, trying to get a decent scan of my fingertips.
Oh, and they took my picture. For my greencard. That was it. I don't think we were in that building more than 20 minutes. It felt a little pointless, having driven 2.5 hours (in the slush, no less) but at least it wasn't a long drawn-out ordeal. It could have been worse.
I could have been one of the people in the other line up.
The one for taking the Oath. THE Oath. I think I must have walked past more than a hundred people, all standing in one long, messy line, waiting to become citizens. And those poor employees. So few of them to manage the crowds. And guess how many of those new citizens-to-be were white.
If you guessed none, you'd be close. There might have been one or two. America really is the greatest country on earth.
Anyway, some people commented on my facebook page that it must have been really cool to have my fingerprints taken. I'm sorry to disappoint, but it didn't exactly feel like an epic moment. I mean, they don't even use ink anymore. They have a scanner, and it shows up on the computer screen.
I'm trying not to worry, because the guy told me that I might have to go back a second time, since I have scarring on the pads of my fingers, and he wasn't able to get a perfect scan every time. They won't reject me because of it, but they might ask for a "rematch", if you will.
So we wait. Wait to hear from USCIS. I'm thinking we'll know within two weeks. And I'll either have a brand spankin' new social security number, or another two-hour trip for a 20-minute appointment.
Either way, Art and I will probably celebrate by going to Denny's again, like we did today. Nothing says, "Yay, I'm in the system!" quite like a hot breakfast at 3 pm.
March 9, 2009
March 8, 2009
Allow Me To Express My Appreciation
I want to thank everyone for their defending me/supporting me in yesterday's post. I don't necessarily blog just to get comments, because I know that comments aren't an accurate indication of who is reading this thing. So I was actually surprised at how many of you chimed in, and further more, how many of you agreed with me.
Because you don't have to agree with me. I won't be offended if you don't. :)
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, thank you. Your positive feedback was encouraging. And every blogger needs a little boost now and then, right?
Because you don't have to agree with me. I won't be offended if you don't. :)
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, thank you. Your positive feedback was encouraging. And every blogger needs a little boost now and then, right?
March 7, 2009
On Second Thought...
Wow. I have had this blog for over two years now. Some of the more serious subjects I have touched on are (in no particular order): my relationship with God, struggles I have gone through in college, having a long-distance relationship with Art, the Gardasil vaccine, politics, fasting, Lent, job frustrations, wedding plans, immigration, and global warming.
But none of those subjects has produced much opposition in the comments. Until yesterday. The topic in question? Homeschooling. I had two anonymous comments from people who completely disagreed with me (and they have a right to do so). In the past, I might have deleted these comments, or ignored them.
At first I said I wasn't going to leave a lengthy reply, but I changed my mind. I'm not going to touch on every point, but rather address it as a whole. The first comment was quite lengthy, so I summarized it into these main concerns:
1. I will not be able to teach my kids on a whole range of subjects better than qualified individuals who spend years of their life learning their fields before even thinking of teaching.
2. If my child has developmental issues (slow learner, dyslexic, or simply learns differently than other kids), I will not be qualified to assess and rectify this.
3. I as a parent, with the best of intentions, will cocoon my child(ren) within a very small, conservative world. It will always be me who makes those decisions and teaches them in whatever capacity I know how, and as a result, they will be limited in their development.
4. They will never know what it means to have other adults in school as role models.
5. They will never be able to converse with anyone, and will be socially inept.
6. They will be quite awkward with members of the opposite sex.
7. When they turn 18, they will suddenly be on their own, in a world they do not understand. They will be oh-so-very innocent. They will be confronted with a world that suddenly, I cannot filter through my own rose-colored glasses, and they will be unprepared, because I was too proud to consider that someone out there actually does know better.
First of all, I want to thank you, whoever you are, for reading my blog, and being interested in my life, and voicing your concerns with care and intelligence. I’m being serious. I’m not hurt or offended. I’m glad you felt comfortable sharing your thoughts with me.
Second, I have actually heard all of these arguments against homeschooling, I have thought them through, and I honestly don’t think that any of them are valid [with the possible exception of the one about learning disabilities. But as my mom likes to say, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.] I think it is completely possible to homeschool a child and raise him or her to be fully functional in every area of life.
Third, even though I'm not a mom yet, the majority of the blogs that I read are mommy blogs. Women who have decided to share the daily joys and struggles of raising a family. And, on several occasions, I have heard their frustrations when someone has called them a bad parent, criticizing their methods simply because that person would not do the same thing.
And all those mothers have said this: it is not up to anyone else to decide how other parents should raise their children, and it is not up to anyone else to decide how YOU should raise YOUR children. Every parent knows their own children better than anybody else, and unless we are talking about extreme situations like abuse or neglect, nobody has the right to tell a parent that they are “doing it wrong."
If parents want to send their children to public school, great! If they want to homeschool their children, great! I have known plenty of well-adjusted youth and adults who came from both camps, and I see nothing wrong with either method. Ultimately, the decision is up to me and my husband, and no one else.
But none of those subjects has produced much opposition in the comments. Until yesterday. The topic in question? Homeschooling. I had two anonymous comments from people who completely disagreed with me (and they have a right to do so). In the past, I might have deleted these comments, or ignored them.
At first I said I wasn't going to leave a lengthy reply, but I changed my mind. I'm not going to touch on every point, but rather address it as a whole. The first comment was quite lengthy, so I summarized it into these main concerns:
1. I will not be able to teach my kids on a whole range of subjects better than qualified individuals who spend years of their life learning their fields before even thinking of teaching.
2. If my child has developmental issues (slow learner, dyslexic, or simply learns differently than other kids), I will not be qualified to assess and rectify this.
3. I as a parent, with the best of intentions, will cocoon my child(ren) within a very small, conservative world. It will always be me who makes those decisions and teaches them in whatever capacity I know how, and as a result, they will be limited in their development.
4. They will never know what it means to have other adults in school as role models.
5. They will never be able to converse with anyone, and will be socially inept.
6. They will be quite awkward with members of the opposite sex.
7. When they turn 18, they will suddenly be on their own, in a world they do not understand. They will be oh-so-very innocent. They will be confronted with a world that suddenly, I cannot filter through my own rose-colored glasses, and they will be unprepared, because I was too proud to consider that someone out there actually does know better.
First of all, I want to thank you, whoever you are, for reading my blog, and being interested in my life, and voicing your concerns with care and intelligence. I’m being serious. I’m not hurt or offended. I’m glad you felt comfortable sharing your thoughts with me.
Second, I have actually heard all of these arguments against homeschooling, I have thought them through, and I honestly don’t think that any of them are valid [with the possible exception of the one about learning disabilities. But as my mom likes to say, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.] I think it is completely possible to homeschool a child and raise him or her to be fully functional in every area of life.
Third, even though I'm not a mom yet, the majority of the blogs that I read are mommy blogs. Women who have decided to share the daily joys and struggles of raising a family. And, on several occasions, I have heard their frustrations when someone has called them a bad parent, criticizing their methods simply because that person would not do the same thing.
And all those mothers have said this: it is not up to anyone else to decide how other parents should raise their children, and it is not up to anyone else to decide how YOU should raise YOUR children. Every parent knows their own children better than anybody else, and unless we are talking about extreme situations like abuse or neglect, nobody has the right to tell a parent that they are “doing it wrong."
If parents want to send their children to public school, great! If they want to homeschool their children, great! I have known plenty of well-adjusted youth and adults who came from both camps, and I see nothing wrong with either method. Ultimately, the decision is up to me and my husband, and no one else.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)