I Have A Passport

After 26 months, a few thousand dollars, an application, a government request for more evidence to prove who I am, a denied application, an appeal, a denied appeal…

…an invitation to appeal through the exact same process that ended with a denial (they even wanted me to resubmit the exact same form with the $700 processing fee, of course) a Senator who passed me off to a different Senator who was of no help, a case manager who, at least, was sweet…

…one federal office tells me that I am an American citizen while another federal office tells me that I am not an American citizen, two trips to the Federal building in Seattle and getting “helped” without an appointment then, on a third trip, the security guard wouldn’t let me in because an appointment was required…

…a, let’s just say, animated conversation with the (Filipino) passport agent once I did get in (pleads the fifth) who, in the time it took for her to tell me no, could have fulfilled my request, it being suggested that I may need to apply for U.S. citizenship thirty years after the fact…

…Mindy wondering if I married her just to become an American (grin)…

…worrying about meeting my job requirements of international travel, a missed trip to the Dominican Republic, Uganda, and probably others, and after one viewing of the film The Visitor (yikes!)…

I have a passport.

Exhales. Finally.

During this time, though, I’ve become acquainted with folks in similar but extreme situations–not seeing loved ones for years, losing jobs, not having a voice…  Having the diligence but not having the processing fee.  This helped me keep my perspective.  Thank God for my citizenship here and my citizenship there.

Time Of Your Life by Green Day plays…