Saturday, April 9, 2016

Convergence

Well, this is actually a terrible picture of nothing, but it was all that I got from today's big event, namely a ceremony for the newest Swedish citizens in our municipality. I got my citizenship quite a while back, but I guess they were collecting more newbies before they went ahead with an official celebration. Unfortunately, The Swede couldn't come because it's the Swedish Masters of ice-fishing, but Jamie made an excellent date. A pianist (and fellow singer in my choir, incidentally) and a violinist played traditional songs, we sang the national anthem, and each new citizen - there must have been fifty of us - walked up on stage and received a certificate and a beautiful hand-blown glass dish stamped with the municipality's insignia. Then we were treated to a delicious smorgÄsbord and Jambo and I both ate until our stomachs hurt. While we were in line for the buffet, we met an Australian (and now, apparently Swedish) woman who lives in the next neighborhood over from us now and who lived in Chagrin Falls, Ohio for four years during her early teens. That would be the Chagrin Falls that's fifteen minutes from my grandparent's house. Small world. That coincidence, and the lovely event itself, made my day and I'm so glad we went.

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