"Whenever the good Lord closes a door,
somewhere he opens a window..."
-The Sound Of Music
Around Christmas time "The Sound of Music" was on. Next to "White Christmas" it is probably the most watched movie of my childhood. I know every line that's about to be spoken, every verse that's about to be sung. If I were ever to be called upon to spontaneously perform one of these shows, I am fairly certain that I could. I would have the help of my family in that endeavor as growing up we had only one television set. Having one television set means that when I wanted to watch one of these movies, everyone who was in the house and wanting to watch TV was subjected to it as well. And as it was my desire to watch "White Christmas" or "The Sound of Music" at least once a weekend, well... you get the picture. Much to my brother's chagrin, he and I could probably pull off a nice little duet of "Sisters". I am slightly emotionally invested. I may want to reenact the wedding scene in "The Sound of Music". Just maybe. It is possible that if I could somehow transport myself into the television set at the end of "White Christmas" and join the party for Major Waverly (a janitor...), I would do it in a heartbeat. I even went to visit the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont one year. I am surprised that a personal black hole of euphoria did not form, sucking me in due to the combination of elements from both movies. It's truly a miracle that anyone on that excursion made it out alive. But... I digress. The point is, I was watching "The Sound of Music" for the umpteenth time and on came the scene in which the Reverend Mother is kicking Maria out of the abbey. At one point she speaks the phrase written above. Maria's skeptical, but at the end of the day, she really has no choice and off to the Von Trapp Family she goes... "These Are A Few of My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss", "Something Good", "Climb Every Mountain (Reprise)", The End. In many ways I too, have felt that while one door has closed for me (albeit temporarily), many windows have opened.
Many of you have asked how things are going while I wait for my visa to be processed, and yes, it is still processing. As I had suspected, the holidays are not the ideal time to be submitting paperwork, well... anywhere. So I did not receive notice that the package had been prepared for processing until after the holidays were over. Current average processing time for a General Visitor Visa at the NYC UK Consulate is about 14 business days. That said, I have been making the most of my continued time in New York. And here is where we come to all of the "open windows" that have revealed themselves to me over the past few weeks.
I was able to attend a very fun and festive wine tasting and cookie swap thrown by my sorority's alumni group in the city. A good friend hosted a LOVELY home cooked feast, complete with personally arranged floral arrangement. (This night ended with the singing of Disney tunes, and seriously, that should be the way every night ends.) I visited with my Philly friends who then drove me up to Massachusetts for a Christmas Party that we all absolutely HATE to miss. It is quite possible that on a Freudian level I somehow sabotaged myself at immigration solely to be able to be in the States for this party. Along the way my friends and I stopped at Louis Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut and I got to have one of the better cheeseburgers that I have had in a long time. I was able to spend Christmas with my parents and attend an annual Christmas Eve gathering, without which, it would hardly feel like Christmas. I was witness to engagements, baby announcements and happily attended the wedding of a very dear friend. I am so grateful that I have been able to share in these moments, events that I would not have known about or thought I would be unable to attend.
And all the while, I have been working. As I sat at home several weeks ago, slogging through the visa process and trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do with myself over the next several weeks, I received a phone call from my former place of employment. It seemed that an unfortunate situation was beginning to present itself and I might be the answer. The candidate hired to take my position upon my leaving the company was proving to be unfit for the job. The circumstances were such that her continued presence in the office was disruptive and counterproductive. I was asked to return to my former position while a new assistant search was conducted. I jumped at the chance. I couldn't help but marvel at the way that events seemed to be unfolding, although at this point it's a wonder I should question anything at all. As my manager later said, "Sometimes you just have to laugh..." to which I added, "...after you finish crying!"
So maybe all of that movie watching during my youth was merely serving to prepare me for the trials and tribulations to come. The Von Trapps needed to cross a boarder... I am trying to cross a boarder. Albeit, with less singing and dancing, and nuns... and Nazis.
Is this too much to ask??
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