AAA Renews Driver's Licenses

As you read earlier, my daughter reminded me that my license expired today. I had ended that post saying that “I guess I know where I am going on Monday.” But apparently my memory is worse than I had thought. Duh, the DMV is not open on Monday. As it was just shy of noon, I thought I was out of luck and figured everything was closed, but after a few quick clicks, I learned two things: One, a license expires on your birthday and there is no 30 day reprieve. Two, DMV doesn’t close until 12:30. Slam, I shut the computer, grabbed ID, the renewal form, but then I had to stop in the bathroom to curl my hair and put on some make up - - - no wonder vanity is one of the seven deadly sins. I drove like a crazy woman down 91 to Wethersfield watching every minute tick away. I turned the wrong way off the exit, had to turn around. Pulled into the East side parking lot and found out I had to go to the west (of course, if I could have read the sign better, I would have know that quicker - - -mental note, get eyes checked). I ran to the front door. It was locked. I was ready to walk away but a DMV worker opened the door for me and said they were still open. I asked people as I hurried down the one hallway to the next to find myself at the door with one of the security guards just shutting the door. I begged her to let me in. She said they had taken their last customer and were balancing out. “Please check. See if anyone is still open. It’s my birthday. Please”

“Sorry.” I could have cried. I could see my whole week going up in smoke. How was I going to get DD to the orthodontist? My husband had just asked me to deliver scouting fliers to the schools. Then as I drove home, wasting a ton of gas, I tried to trouble shoot in my brain. Could we drive with him to Mass on Tuesday, stopping on the way? Then I wouldn’t have a car. I realized that this was no one’s fault but my own. Vanity cost me at least 5 minutes. Being cheap made me not renew when I got the silly renewal card (it seemed silly to renew for $66 if we had already moved). And sheer stupidity made me forget I even had the renewal. I had tucked it out of site for a showing and did not look at it again.

When I got home I was frustrated and my husband’s comments were making me angrier. Because now my license would be expired, I couldn’t just go one town over; I had to go all the way back to Wethersfield. My husband started joking that he would help me study for the test. This was seriously not funny. I went back online to see if there was anything else I could do. I saw that CT now allows license renewals at AAA and the one just two towns over didn’t close until 2. My husband offered to drive. He saw that I was so rattled and shaking, I would probably kill someone if I got behind the wheel. We cruised over there as quickly as we could and I got my license renewed with just minutes to spare. Whew, my week is saved.