Monday, April 08, 2019

Coming to (the mainland of) America




I'm never going to put "attention to detail" on my resume. Or "self-starter." These adjectives do not usually apply to the anxious ADHDers. Thus, at this date, seven and a half months after arriving in Michigan, I still have Hawaii license plates on my van. I did get my Michigan driver's license though!! It came in the mail Saturday, so there!

Not to say I haven't tried. Today, for instance, I am 75 miles at from home,  sitting at the Fort Gratiot light house, listening to the waves of Lake Huron and watching traffic cross the Blue Water Bridge in and out of Canada. What does that have to do with license plates?  Well, duh, I drove out here to get out of dodge and go to a Secretary of State (Michigan's DMV) which serves a smaller population and, therefore, has shorter wait times. Spend your time driving and listening to music instead of sitting and waiting, right?  Exactly.

Oh, but I didn't have a copy of my husband's license. I have a pic on my phone! But I wrote our Michigan address on the form he had to sign since both of our names are on the title. And he has his Hawaii license still. With our first Hawaii address. Which doesn't match the title address, anyway.

"Honey! Do you have 10 minutes to see if you can fill out this form online and sign it and email it to the manager of this SOS branch?" He can't figure out how to edit it online or sign it.

Maybe I can go to a library and fill it out, figure out how to take a pic of his signature on the printed form, cut it and copy it onto the online form, then send it to him so he can email it, etc. etc.

Never mind. Girly and I will go to the beach. (She's homeschooled again.) She can see her first Great Lake and glimpse another country. We'll throw rocks into the water and freeze our feet when we take off our shoes and socks to feel the water.

I'll breathe it all into my soul: the big body of water with the wind blowing, fishing boats floating, sand beneath my feet, and waves gently rolling in.  I'll cry because it's not Hawaii; it's not my home, but it'll carry my spirit for a while.