Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light

Last night I thought we were going to Gail and Mark’s for drinks but they had put together an amazing surprise party to celebrate my new citizenship! I always knew I have wonderful friends but I must say I was flabbergasted, the amount of work and care made me feel so appreciated it was by far the best party I have ever been in this country!

It was Gorgeous Gail idea and they really did a fantastic job of keeping me in the dark. It is hard to know where to start to thank you all for what you did: all the delicious food Gail prepared, the bubbly Karen brought ( and even more specially risking being stranded in Torrington by the predicted snowstorm),  the great cookies done by the other Karen, and gorgeous gift she and Rit gave me, the American Flag shaped Christmas ornament I got from Bob and Stacey, but above all it was the hugs and smiles and genuine love and friendship that even at this moment brings tears of joy to my face.

 He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed deserves an Oscar, not for a second he gave any hint that it was a party. He actually even said we might skip it since he was feeling so very tired, he asked me to make chili con carne for dinner pretending we were just going for drinks and he wanted a more substantial meal beforehand.

It was fantastic to enter the room and see them all there, Gail, Mark, Bob and Stacey, Rit and Karen, Marc, Linda, Bill, Frank and Pam, and Karen entering from the kitchen as she got there one minute after I did!

 I do feel amazingly proud to be an American but more importantly I feel immensely lucky to have such friends!