Friday: It all started when I dropped my son off over at his friend's house last Friday. I walked him in and started chatting with his friend's parents. Somewhere in the conversation they mentioned that they had gotten their children a passport to travel internationally. I asked if this was just a precautionary step, to which they replied that it was a necessary one, since they were traveling internationally by air...Que panic attack starting in my head...I excused myself and said goodnight, and high tailed it out of their to call my parents. Now you are probably wondering why the sudden onset of a panic attack...well my son was traveling with my parents internationally in 2 days and it was 9:30 at night on Friday! I call my mom praying that she answers. As soon as she answers I squeak out the news that my son needs a Passport, to which she applies that they think his Birth Certificate should be enough. I tell her to look it up, but it most definitely looks like he will need one since they are traveling internationally. On the phone I hear her talking to my Dad and tell him that they need to look it up, she starts repeating Uh-Oh over and over. She quietly and quickly tells me that she is will give me a call back. I arrive home and start searching the internet like a maniac, everything I come across proves that he indeed needs a Passport. Again it is now 10:30 pm Friday evening, he is supposed to be leaving Sunday morning. My mom gives me a call back and we exchange the horror of what has unfolded in the last 45 minutes... we both question if it is possible to get a Passport on such short notice. My mom told me that in her search she found a Passport Agency located in Dallas and said that it was open the next day. She said it would be a long shot, but they do accept Walk-Ins. I told her that we would have to give it a try, because at this point we have nothing to lose.
Saturday: Saturday morning I wake up groggy, I had been up until 1 a.m. trying to find different papers I would need, and filling out an application. I text my mom to see if she can find the paper that states I have sole custody of my son. I grab a quick breakfast and head out the door to get my son on our way. We arrive at the Passport Agency around 9:00 a.m. There are two ladies sitting down in the lobby checking to make sure you have all the paperwork before heading upstairs. The lady notices that I am missing the paper the shows I have sole custody of my son. She says that without the hard copy of the piece of paper I probably wont be able to get the passport today, but to go ahead and talk with the people upstairs...my mom had sent me a picture of this piece of paper earlier, so I know we had it, she just had it with her. We arrive upstairs and are seen very quickly, the next two ladies I see tell me the same exact information about the missing paper. I am freaking out and on verge of crying...if this were one of the times that I wish I had the power to teleport, I would use it. After about 20 minutes of waiting we get over to the specialist window. He is looking through my paperwork and asks when my son is traveling, I tell him tomorrow and that we need the passport today. He gets to the Birth Certificate and asks if the dad is here, I explain to him that I have sole custody and my mom has the piece of paper that I need. He says that without that piece of paper there is nothing that they can do. I tell him that my mom is coming up later that day and if we come back Monday would there be a chance that we could get the Passport fairly quickly. He responded that there was a great possibility that they could do a quick turn around. My son and I leave feeling defeated. I call my mom and tell her that we weren't able to get the Passport today, but have a chance on Monday to come back. I remind her to not forget the piece of paper and also see if they can switch their flight. We hang up, not really knowing what Monday will bring, I prepare my son that he may not be able to go.
Sunday: My Dad leaves to go on the trip, my mom was able to switch hers and my sons flight to Monday. Still nothing new in the Passport dilemma. We go to bed knowing we have to wake up early tomorrow morning.
Monday: My alarm blares through the silence at 6:15 a.m. I quickly turn it off hoping I haven't woken the baby or my husband. I stumble out of bed and go to make sure my son is awake. I hear movement and can tell that my mom is already up and getting ready. As soon as I turn the corner my son is there to tell me that his ear drum has burst.SERIOUSLY?? I look in his ear and sure enough it has burst...my son used to get ear infections all the time and his ear drums would burst most of the time....Que panic mode again,MAJOR PANIC...I look at my mom and we both exchange a concerned glance. I ask my son if he is feeling ok, making sure his ear doesn't hurt. He said that he has felt fine, except for the minor pain in his ear the last few days....this was totally unexpected because he hasn't had a ear infection in 6 years! My mom and I come up with a new game plan. We will go to the Passport Agency, while we are there we will call his doctor and let her know what is going on, hopefully they can squeeze us in to look at his ear and prescribe any medicine that he may need...oh and my mom and my son have to be at the airport at 12:30 p.m.... it's 6:30 a.m.....the countdown begins.
We arrive at the Passport Agency at 7:30 a.m. We go ahead and head into the building, hoping that we can been seen early. We are allowed up on the floor at 7:50 a.m. and are being seen at 8:00 a.m. We go through the same motions that we did on Saturday, but this time I have the paper proving that I have sole custody. We are done with the processing part within 30 minutes. The agent tells us that it can take anywhere from 1-3 hours to get the Passport made, we are hoping it is the latter. We head over to a McDonald's around 8:45 a.m., I am in need of a coffee and my son is in need of some food, plus we have to kill some time. My mom had called the doctors office and we were waiting for them to call back as well. We eat and hang out for a bit, and then decide to head back up there to wait around for them to call our name. We arrive back on the 11th floor at 9:15 a.m. and my mom tells me to go and check just to make sure it isn't ready, I jokingly respond that it would be amazing if it was! I walk up to the lady and tell her that I am waiting on my sons passport, I tell her the name and she smiles and points that it is ready. I must have had a perplexed look on my face because she started laughing, I told her that they were amazing and that was a quick process. I check over and make sure all information is correct and leave with the Passport in my hand. I walk over to my mom and my son and show them that the Passport is in hand and we are able to go. My mom is just as baffled as I am with how quick they were...they received a terrific review on YELP from me.
The time is now 9:30 a.m. and we still haven't heard from his doctors. We decide to take him by an Urgent Care. On our way his doctor's call and tell us that they can fit him in if we head that way right now. I tell the nurse that we are already in the car and will be there in 10 minutes. My mom and I can't believe how the pieces are falling into place. We arrive at the doctors and are seen very quickly. The doctor confirms that it is a busted ear drum and an ear infection. She prescribes antibiotics and sends us on our way. The time is now 10:45...we pick up the antibiotics and are amazed with how smoothly everything has been this morning...the time is now 11. We stop for some frozen yogurt, and then head to the airport with lot's of time to spare. On the way to the airport my mom checks the flight and makes sure that the gate hasn't changed. All of a sudden she lets out a huge gasp, and I ask her what is wrong. She responds that their flight from Dallas to Miami has been delayed, which means that they probably won't be able to make the connecting flight. I am just about to tell her that maybe this is our last sign that my son shouldn't go, when she responds with a Never Mind...she had been looking at the wrong flight...minor crisis averted and we were back to being on our regular schedule. She looks over at me and exhaustively says, " I need a Vacation from this Vacation." I laugh and respond that it has been pretty chaotic for the last couple of days. We arrive at the airport with 10 minutes to spare. We all let out a huge sigh of relief and can't believe it was actually pulled off. We say our goodbye's with lot's of hugs and kisses, and then they head inside to start their vacation. The good news is that my son now has a Passport that is good for 5 years!
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