I just got the most amazing email I have received in a decade from my wife,
April.
Application Type: CRI89, PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED
Current Status: Card production ordered.
On April 22, 2008, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service.
For those of you who are late to this party- I met April online in a Conversations With God discussion forum I created when I was 19. While we were more or less online buds at first, the more we got to know each other, the more we felt a connection, even tho I was in New Jersey- and she was in Calgary, Alberta. My online community fizzled out (served its purpose), and she had created one called 'Collective Shadow' on the ezboard system. It was a general message board about spirituality, religion, and philosophy. She was the admin/founder, and I was the troublemaker ragging on fundamentalist. ;)
An online friendship blossomed into an online love interest- and even tho I had no idea what she looked like for the first two years we chatted online (and this is way before it was cool, or even socially acceptable to meet people online in this fashion)- my friends and family urged me not to form a long distance relationship- my friends warned she was probably a 50 year old man screwing with me. ;) Luckily my strong feelings and impulses were much stronger than any worry that was projected my way.
Sometime in '02 I flew in to Calgary to meet her for the first time- greeted by her mom who checked a couple forms of ID before driving me to meet April. ;) She was nothing compared to the customs officer who took me in a private room because I was so visibly nervous- he searched every pocket and every sock in my suitcase. lol But the meeting went well (one might even say it was magical and surreal :))- despite a bit of early nervousness. And that lead to a couple more meetings (one in Boulder, another in Calgary, and then another in New Jersey), which lead to me trying to drive (move) to Calgary- getting kicked out- and eventually us getting married back in New Jersey.
The immigration system was in need of a lot of work when we started, but I can say with honesty that it has come a long way since we first started. Granted right after 9/11 wasn't the time to try to immigrate here- but what is one to do when they imagine something wonderful- get a glimpse of something beautiful, and is then is faced with what appears to be impossible odds? Well, I called my mom first- who was our biggest supporter thru this whole thing. She got us some advice with an immigration specialist which got us started, but April eventually took matters into her own hands- learning the immigration process inside and out to make sure everything went well. She later did the same thing with her career as a web designer. ;) Wow.
At first, they treat you like cattle- we had to go to Newark, NJ to get fingerprints, and some other stuff signed and dotted- it was in the summer, and the facility was in a giant abandoned wear house with no windows, no air conditioner- and basically a lot of foreign people who were looking pretty desperate and hopeless. I would say we were hopeful thru the entire thing- both of us had beliefs that life would support us- but jeez- seeing person after person in various facilities and airports getting deported, mistreated, and treated like an animal without a soul was sad to say the least. And seeing others in a state of broken dreams doesn't do a lot for your own vision- except cause doubt.
It was doubt that drove both of us crazy at times. ;) When we were hopeful and trusting, things went generally well.
Another huge challenge was waiting months for paperwork to give her the right to work in the states- there were delays, and we basically had to live off the 20k or so I was making at the time. Thank god for credit cards, right? ;) Not my most preferred method of doing things- but when you gothru years of synchronicity to meet and get to know a person, and your experiencing a feeling where you know what you want- and won't take no for an answer- you do what you have to do.
I have probably gone thru more joy and hardship- both ends- as a result of this relationship than any other area of my life. As always, when things are displeasing- we wonder what the hell we are doing, but use those opportunities to strengthen bonds, focus on what is wanted from the situation, and support each other in that- and there isn't a shitty situation out there that you won't love in the end for helping you become what you have become...
Looking back, I don't think it was my most graceful attempt at life, but I learned a certain amount of handling life with grace because of it. I talk a lot about the relationship between our feelings and our manifested reality a lot on this blog- and when we both got scared, we downward spiraled, and when we both got focused on what we wanted and had hope towards that- and knowing life wouldn't stop supporting us in our decisions- we felt relief, and focused more on making the most of the moment we were in- having fun- having an adventure. :) (Which caused upward spiraling) A major lesson in being deliberate. Something I am still practicing- and think I will be till I croak. ;) Or if other language suits you- practice in having an internal locus of control vs external.
Wow. Couldn't have done it alone, that's for sure, and I don't think I got any help until I was open to letting life help me. That was a tough one to admit at one point. ;) But glad I got thru that at a younger age. lol
Anyway, I know a lot of my friends on gaia have been following this little story, and couldn't wait to spread the good news. Still reflecting, and it is kinda surreal that this is all over. Feels like a new beginning- like anything is now possible- no more constraints. Couldn't be more thankful for my beautiful wife, and for our beautiful lives that we share together. Some risks are really worth taking. :)
I feel a lot of joy knowing that my willingness to go thru these experiences is causing the universe to expand- and that my desires (along with everyone elses) for a better immigration system for those beautiful people who want to live here to be with their families will be answered by life. I have seen evidence of that already while going thru the final steps of the process.
To expansion, happy endings, and new beginnings... :) (and wiping my brow) ;)
And just a note to the former me from years ago when all of this was starting:
It's just one of many adventures you will be having. ;) Enjoy it.
Help
Sign In
QAR
August 2009 
dave
After recent reports that pesticides are present in children’s urine and saliva, Humboldt County, CA sheriffs have arrested Gina and Louis Mays for feeding their children commercially grown food. This is the first such case in the country that accuses parents of neglect and abuse for not feeding their children organically grown food. The Mays are facing a stiff fine, and their two young children may be removed from the home.
Access: Public
