Take Five

Immigrating is an overwhelming undertaking. I honestly can't imagine how someone from a third-world country ever accomplishes to find their home in a foreign land. Besides the mountains of paperwork that seem to reach new heights each day with each question, there's the sheer cost of laboratory tests, x-rays, the services of a notary public, qualifications assessment, professional association registration, police record checks, a visa application--we've spent $200 on passport photos alone! If I wasn't sure about this little country of warriors far in the southern hemisphere, I would've backed out long ago. I hate paperwork. I hate having to keep a constant, running, growing, MUTATING "to-do" list. And writing it all down doesn't help. When I lay in bed at night trying to sleep, when I'm sweltering in the summer traffic, when I'm hauling canvas bags from the grocery store, I can't help but obsess over all that still remains to be done... But when I see an airplane in the sky and imagine myself behind the hublot, looking down at my mother country, I can breathe. It'll all be over soon.