August 2, 2011

A new life



Forty years ago today I came to the US to live. It was the worst day of my life. Not the decision, but the day itself. I left both my parents crying at the airport. If I did not have a paid ticket (by the Dutch government - they were promoting emigration), and had my stuff not already been shipped, and, most importantly, if I did not have my love waiting on the other side, I would have chucked the whole deal and gone home with them. My father, then 62, crying at the airport, it broke my heart.

So I snottered my way across the Atlantic to New York, which was assigned to me as my port of entry. My flight from Amsterdam had been delayed and when I arrived at JFK, I missed my connection. Thankfully I was picked out of the crowd at random to speed up the gargantuan line of passengers and taken with my paper work to an office to get me through faster. No matter, I was too late anyway, and I was booked on some milk run from East to West Coast. I have no idea how many landings I made that night, it felt like a dozen.

My destination was Seattle, Washington, where I would be picked up by my "adopted" American parents, friends of my mom and dad. When I do not arrive on the expected flight, they had understandably returned to Bellingham to wait for further instructions. I got to Sea-Tac Airport around 2 am and a hall full of GI's, waiting for their flight to Vietnam. The airport was under construction and the concourse I picked for a snooze was without glass. I was exhausted. I called my friends around 6 am and they hurried back to pick me up and drive me to their lovely home.

It was not a great start to my new life, but it was a decision I have never regretted. I have made a number of mistakes while living here, but coming was not one of them.

2 comments:

webb said...

The kind of story that is funny and tugs the heart strings at the same time. So glad you came, and equally glad to have discover you living your dream in blogland. Happy Anniversary.

DJ said...

Well, we couldn't be more thrilled that the Dutch government want you to emigrate (although there aren't that many people in The Netherlands so not sure why). I love you, sis!