We Can Laugh Now...

On Thursday, my oldest daughter planned to fly out to Thailand to meet up with her husband who was there as part of his master's program.  Notice I said planned.  They have scheduled a two week trip starting in Bangkok and going throughout the country including Phuket.  The flight was at 1:15 in the morning, so she went to work and arranged for her sister to drop her off at the airport at 11pm.  When she got home from work and went upstairs to start packing, she found that her dog had EATEN, TORN UP, OBLITERATED, and DECIMATED her PASSPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Not my daughter's dog or passport, pic found on web)

She does not panic, she calls us for advice, she talks with her husband in Thailand. With only hours to go, she cals up the airline and they tell her to gather up all the pieces, put them in an envelope and come down to the airport so they can evaluate the situation.  The airport is an hour away.  So at 9pm they head over to LAX.  As soon as the attendant saw the passport (that only had 3 pages left in it) they told her that NO WAY would she be able to fly out tonight.  She took the news very calmly.  They told her she would have to go to the Federal Building tomorrow and get a new passport.  Have you ever seen the line for a new passport at the Federal Building.  Miles long!!!!  It is now 11pm. She must be at the Federal Building by 8am with new passport photos, applicable certificates and the application.  PANIC! (on my part), trying to remain positive and calm for her.  Where is she going to find a place to take a photo for the passport at 11pm??? Only one day to get the passport before a long holiday weekend.  I call around and find a Kinkos open 24 hours and she goes there to get some passport pics taken.  It is now midnight, I print off the application she needs and find her birth certificate. She comes by to pick up all her stuff, she gets 3 hours of sleep before she is up and headed off to LA once again to stand in line at the Federal Building.  When she gets about 15 miles from the exit, there is a huge oil spill right at the exit for the Federal Building.  It takes her 45 minutes to go 5 miles.  She tells me that she thinks there must be some reason God doesn't want her in Thailand yet. I agree. It's the only way she can rationalize what she is going through. She is tired, she is stressed, she feels nauseous and starts to cry as I advise her on freeway strategy.  God, please give her strength. She exits the freeway and must make her way to the Federal Building via surface streets in an unfamiliar city.  Thank God for GPS. 

 Fortunately, there is not a long line this morning.  She's in luck, the clerk tells her, on Fridays, the naturalization ceremonies take place and there is not very many people there until noon when the ceremony is over and then a flood of people come to get their new paperwork.  She is accepted by 9:30 and told to come back at 3:30 to pick up her new passport.  She is exhausted but feels a burst of adrenaline due to having accomplished her stressful task.  She is happy, you can hear it in her voice.  No since coming home because by the time she drives home and back in traffic, she will have only spent an hour at home. She gets a hotel room right down the street from the Federal Building and sleeps for 5 hours until it is time to get her passport.  She then hangs out at the hotel until 9pm when she must go back to the airport and try to fly standby to Thailand.  

Thankfully, she was able to get on the 11:55 flight and she only looses one day of her vacation.