Attending a Citizenship Ceremony at the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg (Virginia) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget-Pennington
The day before Laurent was to be sworn in as a citizen of the United States, I ironed all of our clothes while Laurent polished shoes. Everyone had to try on their outfits, which I touched up with more ironing.
I
made dinner reservations at the Boathouse, so Florence could get a huge bowl of
crab claws to remember the occasion.
The
next day, we went to Williamsburg (Virginia) for the citizenship ceremony.
Williamsburg
has very sophisticated Christmas decorations I noted as we drove into
town. There were no colored and
twinkling lights in this town.
Williamsburg dwellers paint real fruit gold to go with the pine wreaths
on their doors.
This
seventeenth century town made me think we were walking through the streets of
England with all the red brick buildings.
Our
destination was the House of Burgesses where Laurent’s citizenship ceremony was
going to take place.
I
told Florence, “We are in a very famous and important place,” as we took our
seats on the 400-year-old benches.
A
judge swore in the new citizens. Then,
different members of the Williamsburg (Virginia) Chapter of the Daughters of
the American Revolution presided over various pledges and recitations that we
were given handouts to repeat and sing as needed:
-the
Pledge of Allegiance
-the
Americans’ Creed
-the
Star-Spangled Banner
The
Daughters of the American Revolution then introduced Donald T. Regan, the
speaker:
Regan,
who was President Reagan’s former Chief of Staff, exhorted the new Americans to
learn English and drive the speed limit.
We
all received miniature American flags at the end of the ceremony.
“You
always get party favors in the U.S.,” I told Laurent and little Florence as we
headed out to our blue Nova in the parking lot.
As
we were pulling out of the exit, Mr. Regan walked by our car. We waved our flags at him, and he gave us the
thumbs up.
I
rolled down the window and said, “We’ll drive the speed limit,” as we pulled
out of the parking lot giggling.
We
went to the Boathouse and ordered platters of grilled scallops, shrimp, and red
snapper. I got a bucket of crab claws
for Florence.
I
cracked crab claws for Florence and handed the delicious meat to her and said, “Here
you go, kiddo,” after dunking it in warm, melted butter for her.
We
ate Key Lime pie for dessert and took photos of Laurent with all his
citizenship papers. Everyone in the
restaurant cheered him and loved it that he was a “Navy Guy” husband.
By
Ruth Pennington Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
 |
| Ruth Paget Selfie |
