Joyful Journey

The news is filled these days with talk of immigration laws and Arizona. Our time in Switzerland has given me a bit of perspective of what it's like to live in a country that is not your own. Before we could move to Switzerland, Bob had to be issued a permit by Switzerland, verifying the need for a non-Swiss to fill this position. It was only after this permit was issued that we were allowed to officially rent an apartment and start the process to obtain a visa. As part of the visa process, we were required to provide documentation to prove that we had the intent of returning to the states as well as sufficient funds to provide for return tickets!! Our landlady had to inform the gemeindehaus (local government office) that we had rented the apartment, and when we were moving in. We were given 10 days from the date of our arrival to register with the town. If we did not register within that time frame, the Swiss were free to immediately deport us, no questions asked. They...

My husband remarked the other day that he used to think I was a giving person. Oh, spear through the heart. I do desire to be one who shares freely, who gives lavishly, who holds all that has been given to me loosely. Used to be giving. That was hard to hear. Of course, context here is important. He made this comment while he was in the process of stealing a large swig of water out of my cold water bottle, after his had gotten warm. In my defense, I was protesting, not sharing the of the water, but the amount he was confiscating on that hot, summer day. However, this has become a recurring theme for the last two days. He was again discussing my inability to share, specifically living space. I have stated that there is absolutely no possible way that I am willing to share even one iota of space with this one. He countered that I'm being a bit greedy, quite a bit selfish. This one is only asking for a small space. He will eat very little. No. I'm holding my ground on...