Twelve years ago

I don't know what it is about birthdays that makes one reminisce.

Twelve years ago was a year filled with so many milestones in my life.

Twelve years ago I finished medical school

Twelve years ago I started residency training

Twelve years ago I attended my swearing in as a naturalized United States citizen

Twelve years ago I delivered my first born son

Oh, the stories I could tell about the tumultuous journey that my family and I took on our path to citizenship. I think back on how monumental it was to finally be standing and receiving what felt like the security that we had been struggling to get for so many years. The immigration process was expensive, scary, demoralizing and frustrating. I remember often feeling as though I was running around like a mouse in a wheel, working hard but not getting anywhere. As hard as we fought, one would think it would be difficult to walk away. It wasn't.

My eldest child is celebrating his 12th birthday in the morning. I am so grateful for all that has transpired between the year of his birth and now. Everything hard won has set the foundation for the resolve and appreciation I have right now.

Don't hold onto anything so tightly that you can't let it go. You need open hands to grasp new experiences.