Day one.
Maria touched down at Memphis International late this afternoon, only to be greeted by nobody. Of all the times to be late for picking someone up from the airport, this must count as one of the worst. In my and my parents' defense, though, the Delta flight actually arrived earlier than the scheduled time.
After 10 lonely minutes of waiting at the baggage claim area, Maria was surprised to turn around and see me walking up to her with the requisite bouquet of red roses in hand. Following the a couple warming hugs and kisses, not to mention a broken record of apologies for being late, my parents had their own turn of welcoming Maria to her new home.
The process to reach this charged moment of arrival was a long and complicated one. We had married in the summer while I was still living in Germany. Though we submitted the visa application process early for Maria, in the end a frustrating paperwork error on the US consulate's behalf caused a delay. After multiple one-on-one meetings with German and American government bureaucrats, document requests, certified translations, and completed application phases, September finally arrived and with it the expiration of my German visa. Consequently, I returned to the US and waited for one depressing month until Maria's visa was approved and she could finally board a plane heading my way. That protracted ordeal is probably worthy of a blog of its own, but as Maria and I at last held each other in our arms the experience seemed a distant past.
The night capped off with a celebratory sushi feast at a Japanese restaurant close to home and an early retirement to bed for an exhausted Maria. As I write this I look forward to the many enjoyable and, yes, sometimes difficult moments that await us in the next twelve months as Maria integrates into her new American home.
