Time at the DMV
Today my son and I ventured to the local DVM to get his permit to drive. He wasn’t ready when he turned 16, but now, just days before his 18th birthday, he’s ready. We had another appointment earlier, so we went right after that, arriving at 11:30 am.
We received out ticket and saw that there were 20 ahead of us… actually 20 “b”s ahead of us. There were categories depending on what you were there for. “A”s came and went quickly–they were there for a photo license renewal. “C’s” are still a mystery to me, but they came and went a little slower. B350 was on the board, and we were B370. We were standing for the first 45 minutes, and then, mercifully, 2 seats opened up. We killed the next hour and 15 minutes chatting, him listening to music, me reacquainting myself with level 2025 of Candy Crush, which I hadn’t played lately, and finally pinning a lot of rug hooking and punch needle patterns on Pinterest. I was grateful for the granola bar in my purse after the first 45 minutes, but now I was getting thirsty. B360 was finally called and we were 10 away. At this point, I texted my son-in-law and told him of the wait and asked if he wanted me to pull a ticket for my granddaughter while we were there. She is six.
B365–We were getting close. The guy next to us jumped up as if he was stung on the butt and hurried in to claim his spot at counter 3. About this point I reminded my son that not passing the permit test was not an option. I would not be back to sit vigil again. He laughed nervously and began taking the practice test, yet again, on his phone. People came and went, forgot to get tickets, or just wandered in and decided to go into the doorway where we all wanted to go. I mumbled to my son under my breath–“Sure, just go right in. All of us are just sitting here clearly waiting for something else. Don’t mind us.”
The woman next to me appeared to be detoxing from something, but determined to wait it out. Maybe she wanted a cigarette, a drink or a Reese’s peanut butter cup. regardless, no one was leaving at this point. We hung in there way too long.
B369 was called and I was giddy with excitement! I leaned over to my son and said I feel like I need to yell “BINGO!!” when our number is called! It seemed fitting! At the 2 hour, 55 minute mark our number was called!!
We had all of our paperwork ready and other than the slow-as-a-sloth person who typed his info into the computer, it all went well. Later my son and I agreed that it was downright painful watching him pluck those keyboard keys so slowly we wanted to reach over and help him. The mystery of what was taking so long was solved at last.
I now have a permitted driver who I need to teach to drive. I am counting on my older kids and friends to help too because some things truly do take a village!
Onward and Upward–tomorrow is a new day!
