Credit: Kit / Unsplash.com
“Good things come to those who wait.”
It’s an often-used Proverb, intended to remind you to have patience. I’ll admit, it is a skill I often lack. OK, I almost always lack the ability to remain calm and patient.
My mother always joked I had ADHD and OCD. She said that meant I wanted things done perfectly, the way I wanted it, right now. She wasn’t wrong.
But, just once and a while, I find that my unintended procrastination pays off. For example, I may not get the house cleaned, but then visiting friends have a change of plans. Phew, dodged that bullet, and didn’t waste too much time tidying up.
And despite my own disbelief, I’ve learned of a federal government loophole of sorts that I find so amazing I wanted to share it. And it all began with a bit of impatience, with a dash of procrastination, and a huge dose of anxiety.
In planning for an upcoming, and long-awaited, summer vacation, I had meticulously mapped out the required time necessary to apply to replace my expired passport. I had all proper documentation neatly filed away. I filled out the required forms, making sure I gave even MORE time than the U.S. Passport Agency advises to be SURE it came in time.
And lucky enough for me, it did. All went to plan. I was all set, and things went incredibly, and really unusually, smoothly for a change. And then came the proverbial wrench in travel plans. I have chosen this year to take one child-inclusive vacation and another, adults-only getaway.
As my trip with my kiddos rapidly approached, we all became more and more excited. They’ve never been to Canada and had never seen Niagara Falls. So, fulfilling one of the long rattling of bucket-/wish-list trips, we began our plans.
Long story shortened for your benefit, children’s passports do not last as long as adult passports. While I though the teens had more than safe expiration dates, it turns out their passports were not going to be usable. Those under age 16 only have passports good for five years. Once they are 16 or 17, you’re safe, and the new passport lasts the typical (adult) ten years. Lesson learned. You’re welcome for sharing.
As I lacked the same heads up, I found myself dangerously close to vacation and with two teens passport-less. I knew there was an “emergency” clause in the process. I’d heard of folks having to update passports due to, say, a death in the family. But, due to mom’s poor planning? I wasn’t so sure.
As I read on and researched, I was happy to find that, should your trip fall within two weeks, and you have an expired (or no) passport, you can locate a handful of nationwide offices that can help you obtain said passport at an escalated pace. Now try as I might, and I have been a journalist for over 27 years, I could NOT find a single word from the government stating that we would, in fact, leave that agency with a passport. It repeatedly said the emergency appointment would be able to assist you, what to bring, what to do, how to may said appointment, etc. But in not “.gov” website could I find the timeline explained.
As a neurotic planner, this drove me crazy. I resorted to trusting the dreaded “people of the internet.” A particularly helpful woman had outlined her experience, actually booking a flight to Texas in order to seek an emergency appointment, get to an agency, and left the same day with a passport. This was shocking news to me. The same day?!
I, absolutely am not kidding, have REPEATED nightmares about getting to an airport without my passport, finding out it is expired and being forced to cancel extensive travel plans, or being removed from a flight, pre-taxi, because my documents somehow don’t pan out. The idea that there was any process that might remotely allow a person to get a passport in a SINGLE DAY?! This was up there with flying pigs in my mind.
With seemingly no other choice, I opted to make the appointment. I drove over two hours to find an available time slot, dragged the two teens along, and packed every single document government- or court-issued I ever had about any mention of my children with us. It turned out, all you needed was a birth certificate, an identification (such as your driver’s license), and a completed form. Oh, that, and $225 per person payment.
But should you find yourself in this late-travel-plan-full-blow-anxiety attack, there is a silver lining… it’s true. You can get your passport in ONE SINGLE DAY! In fact, after finding a minor issue, getting a call while we waited nearby the agency, and STILL fixing it in time, my two teens had their passports made in about 15 minutes.
I am not remotely exaggerating when I say I am still in shock. I could not believe it. I mean, yes, some practical part of me knew that somewhere, in some secret lair of the government, a passport printer existed. I understand that a quick search of things like a social security number, name, date of birth, and other federally-issued identifiers, yes, you should be able to rather quickly review (especially for two teens) the legitimacy of an American-born citizen.
But the concept that we handed paperwork over to a woman behind thickly plated glass, waited just 15 or so minutes, and returned to her window to only be handed two passports just blew my mind. I had gone this far into my life and did not know this was even remotely feasible. It was the thing of dreams, or in my case, nightmares. And yet, here we were, holding the precise documents we needed to head out on our trek.
To say I am thankful is an understatement. In just about 48 hours, we will be loading up the family ride, and driving off into our adventure. We will leave our country. We will do so with proper documentation, legally signed sealed and hand-delivered right to us… in 15 minutes.
Perhaps it is the typical pace of our government, and anything related to it, that makes my mind blown. Let’s face it, we’ve all spent hours we’d love to have back having spent them in an endless DMV line. And that’s life. You can’t always get what you want.
But, it turns out, just once in a rare while, the Rolling Stones were right. “But, if you try sometimes, well, you just might find, you get what you need. Ah yeah!”
