My friend Noreen is a nun in a convent on Molenaarsstraat in Gent.  She and I have been talking for weeks about going for a nice walk in the city, and this morning’s sunshine welcomed us to the cobblestones of Gent centrum.

Noreen was on a mission … and she asked me to accompany her.  We strolled our way to CVO Gent, an adult education school.  She was going to get the details about a driver education course.

Noreen is a study in perseverance.  Twice she’s failed the written test.  But so what?  She has a vision: to drive her sisters to appointments, especially the elderly ones.  And so it’s on to the classroom once more, and loads more studying.  Good for her.

As we left CVO, I pondered.  We were close to two destinations of mine.  Should I ask her to walk to Copy Cash so I could print out an insurance contract I need to sign?

The slightest hesitation yielded to “Yes”.  Noreen smiled.  And off we went.  The printer that the employee directed me to wasn’t working properly, and the instructions were in Dutch, but the persevering magically transferred from Noreen to me.  The attendant came over to help me and soon the result was produced.  It was my turn to smile.

On to the next …

“Will you come with me to witness one of my biggest moments of 2025?”

“Of course!”

We walked a few blocks to Stad Gent, the city government administration centre.  My heart was racing.  I’d got an e-mail saying that my new Belgian Identity Card had arrived … and it was about to become mine.

A warm and courteous city employee greeted us.  Noreen stood nearby as I passed an official sheet of paper to the man.  He removed the magic card from its envelope and put it into some electronic gadget.  He entered some codes.  He had me demonstrate my fingerprints.

And …

The card was placed in my hand.  The surprise of a week ago was now in print: “21 02 2027” (February 21, 2027).  My residency permit has been extended for two years, not one!  Noreen beamed.  Me too.

Later, as we continued our journey, and I imagined kissing my card over and over this evening, Noreen simply said …

Thank you for inviting me to witness this moment

Yes, it was a privilege for both of us

Life is good