I had a 7am zapping today because they have an emergency patient. Let’s hope that doesn’t have to happen again.

For years, my plan was to apply for citizenship the day I was eligible in fall 2009. Since you can be a dual citizen of the US and Canada, there is no downside, and given that we live here and contribute to the economy and affairs of state, it would be nice to be able to vote and get involved in formal politics.

Of course, cancer intervened, and now I’m more than eligible, which means Carrie is also eligible. Tonight we went out and got our photos taken for the applications, and in 13-15 months, we should be invited to a swearing-in ceremony. At least that’s the plan. Getting the necessary documents together was a trip, though. One of the required documents is the “IMM-1000″ — a “certificate of landing” — that is rather unfancy and unassuming. Nowhere does it say “THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. DON’T EVER LOSE THIS.” And yet, one gets complacent with one’s IMM-1000 when one is given a shiny, holographic Permanent Resident Card. Not only do we need it for citizenship, but apparently, we will also need it for some things related to retirement. So there’s been a lot of searching through old files, which I guess goes with spring cleaning.