So, as I mentioned in a previous post, my parents are taking Alicia to Mexico in December. We all know that applying for a passport can be a time consuming affair. They really make you jump through hoops, what with the pictures, the guarantor, and all the documentation. I'm surprised they don't take a swab from your cheek to make sure you are, in fact, the child's mother. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with the completion of some errands. I went to the passport office last week, and after waiting only about half an hour, approached the cubicle only to find out that one of my documents was incorrect. What I thought was Alicia's father's original death certificate, which I drove all the way into Vancouver to borrow from his parents, turned out to be a copy. So I left the passport office, went home, and got on the horn to Vital Stats to order an original. Sigh. The document came in about a week, so it wasn't too bad of a wait. Every day counts, though, because for one, my Dad won't be able to stop asking me about it until he has it in his hot little hands, and for another, you just never know when some complication will extend the process. Best to get it done in a timely manner, so off I went, bright and early this morning, to get the job done. I got there before it opened, at 8:30 and there was already a line-up. Once they opened, we all filed in and took a number. I was lucky number 11. Can you believe I was walking back to my car by 9:30? It was painless! Anyway, now I just have to sit back and wait for it to arrive in the mail. Oh and I also have to write a letter authorizing my parents to travel with her, and make an appointment with a notary public to have the letter notarized. PHEW! It's good that the process protects children from being smuggled out of the country. It's just a pain in the butt.