A Morning at the Drivers License Office

I received the dreaded notice that my drivers license would expire in October. I've been dreading it for a long time because I know my eyesight is not nearly as good as it once was. I haven't made an eye appointment yet, so I decided to go a month early to renew my license, just in case I should fail the eye exam and need to get glasses in order to renew.

Monday was the big day! I needed to get the girls' hair trimmed and I needed to renew my license, so I opted to do the haircuts first. All three girls got a nice little trim, with Annie happy as a clam to do whatever her big sisters were doing! We left Cookie Cutters with suckers and balloons, and headed for the license office.

I thought that since we were going mid-month, we may avoid the crowds. WRONG. I walked all three girls into the office, carrying their Cookie Cutter balloons, and it was packed. We took a number and found three seats together in the back corner. It didn't take long to realize that the long line was a result of the non-English speaking woman who was trying to get her drivers permit. Each question that would normally take a second to answer was taking up to 10 minutes, trying to get someone that could serve as an interpretor. There was a man with her that could help a little, but they ended up having to call her daughter on the phone and trying to enlist her help. We settled in for a long wait.

We passed the first 45 minutes of waiting without incident - my biggest challenge was to keep the keep the girls balloons from hitting the large, bald, tattoo-covered man that sat in front of us. I was just starting to feel a bit smug. I was thinking, "Wow. I am really good at this mom-thing. I've got my three adorable little ones in here that are just being good as gold. Hmmm, by George I think I've got it!"

Then Annie pulled out her hair bow. She turned to me with her best scowl and said "All done." I took the bow and stuck it in my pocket, which prompted her to search for her own pocket. She found a tiny little pocket on the bottom of her shorts and she wanted her hair bow back for her own pocket. I explained that her bow would fall out of her pocket, and Mommy would take care of the bow. Uh Oh. Here it comes. She starts her little "I'm going to throw a fit" cry and very gingerly lies down on the floor to get into fit-throwing position. (She used to throw herself back but decided that it hurt too much!) She starts her kicking (picks both legs up and slams her heels to the floor, simultaneously) I couldn't help but bust out laughing as I watched her very-intentional little tantrum. I picked her up and tried to coax her out of it but it didn't work. I then resorted to threatening her with a time out and she immediately stopped. Not proud of the threat, but it worked.

We're now just two numbers away from our name being called and I'm SO READY to get out of there.

Finally, after waiting over an hour, they called for number 28! I quickly stand to gather the girls and head up front when Allie says, "my balloon is stuck." I look down and she has wrapped the string around the bottom of her chair, . . . I tell her to leave it there and we'll get it in just a minute. I bring all the girls up with me and show them where to stand, then I see our little take-charge Annie heading back to Allie's balloon. (Annie has a very strong sense of fairness, and she wanted her sissy to have her balloon.) Next thing I know, all three girls are working on the balloon. I decide to let them work on it while I get started with all my paperwork. The drivers license clerk finishes reviewing my passport, social security card, voter registration card and old license, so I turn to try to gather the girls again. They've freed the balloon, but they are all over the room, running around showing everyone their balloons! Sigh. I gather them up again and it's time for the EYE EXAM.

I'm so stressed at this point that I can hardly see straight - great time for my eye exam!! I start on the letters - read across the 5 letters on the left and think I've got them right. Then I read the 5 letters in the center - so far so good. I start on the 5 letters on the right - A X B D O. She says, "B D O?" Yes, B D O. "Ma'am, why don't you try adjusting your head on the machine a little?" Okay, B D O must be wrong. What else could that B be? Try again. A X S? D O. She says, good enough! S D C, but close enough! HOORAY! I passed!

Time for the picture. Funny how that used to be the most stressful part of the drivers license visit for me. I stand there in front of the screen and force myself to stop thinking about how I haven't brushed my hair, 1, 2, 3, Smile! Ooops. Ashlie just walked in front of me. They show me the picture and I've got a large green balloon right in front of me! Try again. 1, 2, 3 DONE.

I've got the license! Picture is silly but okay. & most importantly, I was still laughing when I left the office! Maybe I am getting good at this mom-thing after all!