So have you ever read Cheaper By the Dozen?

In one chapter of the book, five of the 12 kids need to have their tonsils out. Their father, as efficient as always, decides to have the doctor remove them all on the same day. Martha is the only one of the older children who doesn’t need to have her tonsils out. She is sent to their aunt’s house, being fed on all sorts of unhealthy sweet stuff, while the rest of the children waited for the knife, starving as they weren’t allowed to eat. When the doctor goes to operate on Ernestine, he discovers that he made a mistake – Ernestine is the one who doesn’t need her tonsils out, but Martha does. So they drag Martha from her aunt’s house, kicking and screaming, to get her tonsils out along with the rest of her siblings.

I feel like Martha right now. I had carefully taken the day off tomorrow to do all sorts of errands: first the courthouse, to get the marriage license official; then the DMV to get my new license; then the social security office to get all that changed. I was excited, because Paul has tomorrow off as well and we could spend the day together. Of course the best part of all: getting to sleep in. So tonight I had a coke for dinner! Then I stayed up late with Paul, until about 11 when I decided to get everything together for tomorrow.

I set about on a hunt for my passport or my birth certificate. I have to prove that I’m a US citizen. I looked everywhere. Paul looked everywhere. Neither is here in my apartment. Now, my birth certificate could very well be in Orlando with my parents… but I KNOW I have my passport here. I remember having to show it when I started working here – you know, the whole two ID thing. I remember putting it in my file box. It’s not there. It’s not anywhere.

SO… long story short. I will not be able to change my name at Social Security tomorrow. I am praying my mom has my birth certificate and can mail it up. Otherwise, I will have to look into replacing that, or my passport, or getting a social security card. (WHY don’t I have a social security card? I really am curious about that.) And since Paul can handle the marriage license and I can deal with the DMV on a Saturday, it doesn’t make sense for me to use up my precious last paid vacation day of 2006 tomorrow, when I will need it later for the social security.

I’m super bummed. I was SO looking forward to having tomorrow off – you have no idea. I’m would NEVER have had caffeine for dinner if I had known! I do NOT want to go to work. :-( But, I need to. I will need to take another day off in the future to go change the stupid legal stuff. Why can’t my passport be where I remember it being? Why do things disappear? Why does it seem that 10 vacation days a year jut aren’t enough? I’m considering keeping my maiden name, just to not have to deal with everything.

So I’m Martha, drudgingly going to work tomorrow because I thought I was getting a break and now I’m not. And I really only have myself to blame, although I’m trying desperately to be mad at someone else. Sigh.

You really should read Cheaper By the Dozen. It’s a great book.

EDIT: I decided to take today off anyways, since there’s a chance I might have to do some running around to get a new copy of my birth certificate or whatnot.