My mother bought me a t-shirt with a large American flag on the front.

I proudly wore it, after all, I had an American boyfriend, who soon became my husband, and I moved to the United States.

Then I found stickers and pins that proudly visualized our multinational union. Two flags united: the US flag and the Finnish one.

I learned to fold the Finnish flag as a Girl Scout. And later, as a U.S. Army wife, I learned to stop my car at the Army base when hearing the Reveille or Retreat played, kno...