I Pledge Allegiance

For those of you who do not know, children 14 and older have to be sworn in at your USCIS office before they can receive their "Certificate of Citizenship" which they need to get a Social Secuity Number and other benefits of American citizenship. Vitalik was sworn in Friday, November 14th, with 100 other people. They were there from 39 other countries, including Iraq, Ethiopia, Taiwan and, of course, Ukraine.

For several days leading up to this momentous occassion, I heard "I not go to Atlanta" every time Vitalik got mad at me. He knew this was important and it must have been a pretty scary thing for him. In fact, just a few moments before he got into the car with us to drive to Atlanta, he was "running away" so as to avoid this final step of allegiance. Half way there, however, he was apologizing and asking for forgiveness and we got through the swearing-in ceremony without a hitch. I am guessing that one day he might look back on this day and grasp its significance but his biggest concern while it was happening was whether or not he would have priveleges when he got back home.