A blessed day

Yesterday our friend Swaran became a citizen of the United States. He has been waiting for more than 10 years to become a citizen, and yesterday, along with 104 others representing 49 countries, he took his oath.

He filed papers, hired a lawyer, spent thousands of dollars, and many hundreds of hours of time to achieve this dream of citizenship.

He has told us horrible stories of police brutality, and corruption in India that we cannot even imagine. 

It was an honor for me to witness the ceremony, and I took Sean with me. I don't think there was one person in the room more excited than Swaran to become a citizen of this country.

This Thanksgiving will be special. Thanksgiving will be his first truly American holiday as an American.

Swaran believes in working hard. He has told me, "money comes and goes, but we have to work hard always."  He believes that when you have faith in God, and live according to the way God wants, you will succeed. He believes that being honest and righteous are principals to live by. He believes it is a man's duty to take care of his family, no matter what. While we all whine about the economy, he believes this is still the land of opportunity, and even in hard times we still have a good life. He readily admits that it costs a lot to live in this country, but he also says we don't realize how good we have it. 

A lot of people complain about immigrants, I say we should learn by watching them. I feel lazy when I talk to Swaran and hear how many hours he works each day. He is willing to do whatever it takes to earn a living. In his country, he has a college degree. In ours, he drives a taxi. 

"Marsha, you are so blessed to be born in this country," he says to me, "you peoples do not understand how easy you have it here."

My mother would have been so happy for him. She spent a lot of time contacting government officials to get answers for each step of the process for him. She was determined to help Swaran and his family have a better life. I wish she could have been there.

Congratulations Swaran, my fellow American!

P.S. He looks a bit crumpled because Sean had climbed all over him prior to this photo. I should have had him straighten his tie, but there were about 104 other people waiting to get this same shot. 

Catching up

My girl is 22 years old now. This picture was taken by my oldest son David, while they were at a street festival in Asheville this summer. She's a pistol, in case you couldn't tell from this photo ;-)
Happy Birthday Jewel!!

I have a  few things to catch up on because I haven't been able to blog much lately.

Family
Well, what can I say? Isn't everyone's family a little crazy?
It's Nov. 16, and I don't think anyone has a plan for Thanksgiving. I think no plan means we don't really want to have a plan. So I PLAN to have some turkey and stuffing and some damn sweet potatoes, and if anyone wants to come to the table they can.


Julia
Thank you to everyone who is continuing to pray for Julia. I spoke with her Friday night. The surgery was successful, and the internal bleeding was repaired. She is going in for another minor surgery soon, to insert a port that will make it easier for her to get infusions.
Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
She will likely begin chemo again after the holidays.

Friends
I have some really good friends. Scott is someone I met in the summer, and he has been such a generous and kind friend. Whenever I need some help with ANYTHING, I just call.
I was so bent and broken a couple of months ago. I was in pain and my shoulder and back were completely messed up. I put up with it for about a week or so, then the pain was so much that I was in tears. I was going on no sleep because I couldn't get comfortable, and I was in constant pain. I called Scott, and said, "I need help. I don't know what to do, but I can't go on like this."
I don't have health insurance, and at the time I had just started my job and had no money. Scott hooked me up with the most incredible massage therapist. If you're ever in Gig Harbor and need a massage, I know THE guy.
Scott has bailed me out when my computer failed me, and he has been there to listen to me go on and on when I've whined about all my work troubles. He understands. He's an editor too. He gave us an electric keyboard when I signed Sean up for piano lessons, and he has been my personal bank when I've needed a loan. I could go on and on. He's a great friend. I'm blessed to have so many.
Bill is a new friend. We've made a very deep connection, and it feels like we've known each other for a really long time.
Both of these guys are just friends to me. Both are married. I thank God for bringing them into my life.

Church
Our choir sang the most inspiring and uplifting rendition of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" today. I was almost moved to tears, and the entire congregation responded by giving them a standing ovation. I was a Presbyterian for about 20 years, and we don't typically applaud or anything after a song, or performance during a church service. It's a big deal for me to start clapping, but today I felt completely moved to stand and applaud them.
The Iraqi refugee family will be coming soon. Our church decided to allow them to live in our parsonage until they get on their feet, and an entire estate of furniture and kitchen supplies have been donated to fill the home. We will be moving it all in next weekend. I'm not sure when the family will arrive.
For those of you who don't know, the husband of this family was working with our military in Iraq when he was murdered. Our church wanted to sponsor an Iraqi refugee family, and the Lord has sent them to us.

Work
I'm working non-stop, and it is a challenging job. I learn new things each day, and I can feel the direction of the paper shifting. Change is always a bit scary, but I really think I can make a difference. It will take time, and I hope everyone will be patient enough to wait. I'm in the middle of deadline right now, waiting for everyone to turn in stories for me to edit and get to the paginator.

And with that, I'm on to the next story...

Veteran's Day

To everyone who has served our country: Thank You!

Julia and her dad

This picture was taken in October. Bill sent this to me after our interview. He was on location in Seattle for his part in the movie, "The Whole Truth," and this picture was taken after a long day of work.
I got word from Bill tonight that Julia has been admitted to the hospital. I can't express how heavy my heart is for this family. I will be praying for them tonight, and I plan to stop by the hospital in the morning.
I have not met her young boys yet, but I feel so deeply for them. I know the pain of watching my mother struggle with her illness, but I don't know their pain. They are so young.
Please pray for them.

Praying for Julia

Julia is a special person; someone I know I was meant to meet. I first made contact with her father for a story about being an actor, and during our telephone interview it became obvious that he would be a person in my life. Sometimes I meet people in this business and never see them again. Other times I maintain a level of contact, usually as a source of information for future stories, etc. This man was different. Though I have no doubt he will be a wonderful resource for information, we have formed a bond through our faith.
But it was through talking with him about his family that I came to understand that we were connected by a disease. Cancer.
My mother passed away in December 2007 of cancer. His daughter has cancer.
He told me he sent his daughter on a "Make a Wish," trip to Graceland. He sent me pictures of her with Elvis memorabilia, and a slide show he made of her trip.
My mother's celebration of life was an Elvis party. My mother enjoyed Elvis music, and had quite a few Elvis items given to her over the years that we displayed at the party.
I realized God was telling me to meet this woman. Go talk to her. Write about her.
It is tough to write about these things. Not because they are emotional stories, but because I never want to exploit people. I thought about it for more than a week.
I spoke with her about writing a story, and asked her what she thought it should say.
She said, "how it (cancer) gives you a reason to live."
Julia is dying. She is young and has two boys. And she is an incredible person. Her strength amazes me.
She is dealing with more than cancer, because cancer takes over. It doesn't just take over a body, it takes over everyone around the person who has cancer. As anyone can imagine, each person deals with the pain in different ways.
I won't reveal her personal story here. I am still writing the story. But I will ask that anyone who sees this post please pray for her, for her boys, for her parents, her brothers, and for everyone who loves her.