R-E-L-I-E-F

Years ago Rolaids had an advert how do you spell relief and then they spelled out R-E-L-I-E-F.

I spelled R-E-L-I-E-F twice this week. Not because I had acid indigestion.

One: Rick got his Permis C. Until now a Permis B allowed him to live in Switzerland and move around Schengen without 90-day stay limitations. He had the B because he was married to a Swiss citizen, me.

If I had died, he would no longer have had the right to stay.

The C is good for five years. It does not depend on my staying alive, although I want to and plan to. I feel as if an elephant or two or three or four has been lifted from my shoulders. He's safe.

People who have never tried to immigrate from another country, may not understand the uncertainty of not being a citizen where they live.

At the same time, the word immigrant conjures up images of Latinos sneaking across the Texas border, or people in boats running from bombs.

A country can always throw out any immigrant anytime it wants. Look at the U.S. deciding "foreign" students whose university only offers on-line courses must leave the U.S. Many years ago Switzerland wanted all foreigners out. There are other examples.

Rules can be unknown. My daughter ended up in a Barcelona jail for overstaying Schengen and being banned without her knowing she'd been banned. She isn't the immigrant of xenophobe fears. She's a blue-eyed blond with two university degrees and a professional.

This is not a white supremacy statement. It shows that anyone can have their lives upturned by not having the right papers and why I feel such R-E-L-I-E-F Rick's Permis C is good for five years.

Two: The second great R-E-L-I-E-F was his passing his French exam. The written part will fulfill his requirement for a Swiss passport. Because he's married to me, he can apply having been here five years. Without me it will take ten. But he can do the ten years without me.

Learning a second language in your sixties is not easy. He still needs to improve his oral, a challenge with his hearing problems, but he'll do it.

Sometimes I joked that he is only so wonderful to me because his staying here depends on me. That's why he took such good care of me while I was going through chemo. He tries to fulfill my every wish.

He's had his C now for 48+ hours. He still brought me tea and a biscuit in bed yesterday and this morning. I suspect our good life will continue but with R-E-L-I-E-F.