"Being Who We Are" - Wood Floors, 2006

I've suddenly realized that I'm not sure who "we" are for me.

This problem began to manifest itself during the Beijing Olympics. Why? Because as Britons were marvelling at the performance of Team GB, I found myself occasionally saying "We are doing so well!" And then I caught myself. I realized that I couldn't really say "we". I'm not a real Brit. I just live here.

And could I say "we" when referring to the US Olympics team? Sure I could - by birth, anyway. But it didn't seem fair, really, to put too much claim on a team from a country that is no longer my country of residence.

So that leaves me....where, exactly???

Maybe I shouldn't think so much. I'd be less melancholy if I didn't think so hard about life sometimes.

But the fact is, I just couldn't help thinking about this "we" issue. Thinking about it a lot.

Let's take stock here. My most important "we" is my marriage and relationship with John. I can't imagine finding a more perfect partner! John is the greatest gift I've ever received in my life.

So that's great. I'm a "we" with my husband.

But from there, it starts getting a little murky.

Perhaps I'll feel more like a part of the "we" of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland when I take British citizenship. I believe I'll eventually do that. The admin is a little difficult to accomplish right now, but it isn't impossible. (I should write a post about this - it has to do with was I physically in the UK exactly three years prior to the exact date that UK officials receive my citizenship application - not easy to manage when I've travelled out of the UK as much as I have for work over the past 5+ years.)

Maybe, then, being a "dual" (holding passports and citizenship for both the US and the UK) will help.

At the risk of sounding even more goofy than usual, I can only say - we'll see!

Janet

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