Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Waiting Game

I was talking to a friend last night, and we started discussing where we are in our lives. She's having a baby in January, and she and her husband are pretty excited about it! They're ready to meet him.

I've just begun the process of looking for a job, and am getting ready for my husband to come home TONIGHT!

It reminded me of a conversation I had with another friend (our wedding photographer) during my engagement. I had told her that if I had my way, Jeff and I would have eloped. I was tired of waiting to marry this man.

Then she told me something that changed my life. She told me that the waiting never ends. Our lives are designed in such a way that we're always waiting for something.

Waiting for a boyfriend
Waiting for him to propose
Waiting to marry him
Waiting for babies
Waiting for them to potty train
Waiting for retirement
Waiting for Jesus to return.

The word "wait" has such a negative connotation. No body likes to wait. We have bad attitudes about waiting (how many statuses did you read on Facebook about the voting lines people were in this past Tuesday? A lot). But I've come to realize that it's such a major part of our lives. We can either makes our lives miserable about the process of waiting, or we can use this time to do something! For your community, your church, your marriage, the Kingdom of God... The options are endless. It doesn't have to be a big project, but I firmly believe that we all need a purpose while we're waiting for the next season. If we put off doing something until we get what we're waiting for, we'll never do anything because we just start waiting for the next thing. It's a vicious cycle, really.

While I'm waiting for Jeff to come home, I can set up our house to make it feel like a home for us-- not just a place to live. While I'm waiting for a job, I can get involved in my church, or (dare I say it?) volunteer. I can use this time to mope around the house in my pajamas (like today...), or I can make a difference. Waiting shouldn't be our burden. Wasting our waiting time should be. So now it's your turn! What are you waiting for? And how are you waiting?

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Name Change Fun

I've decided that it's officially time to change my name. Last week, I took a little trip to the Social Security office because you have to do that before you change your name on your driver's license. That was a piece of cake. Much easier than it should have been, really... It was awesome.

The next day, I went to the DMV to get my new license. I knew it probably wasn't going to be as easy as the previous day, but it had to be done.

Let me tell you about my trip to the DMV last week...

I drove 20 miles to get there in my husband's truck because it hadn't really been driven in over a month. I walked in, and handed all (and I do mean all) of my documents to the guy behind the desk. I didn't want to have to drive all the way home and back because I didn't have something I needed.

Like my proof of insurance.

You know, the one that was in my car... in the driveway... 20 miles away. My friend behind the desk decided I could just have my insurance company fax it to the DMV, so I called. After answering a series of questions verifying my identity and necessity of this proof of insurance, I was told that I could switch from my father's policy to my husband's quickly over the phone. The lady on the phone started the process before realizing that she's not certified in my new state, so she switched me over to her friend, Casey, who is certified here.

Meanwhile, I'm still hanging out at the DMV.

Casey proceeds to ask me the same series of questions I had just answered, and at this point, I'm a little antsy and ready to be done with this phone call and this trip to the DMV. I tell Casey, "Listen, if you can finish this quickly, I'd appreciate it. I really only called so you can fax my proof of insurance."

Casey responds with a grave, "oh. I can't do that for you. The primary policy holder needs to make that request." What I heard was, "Oh, you just wasted 5-10 minutes of your life." I was sufficiently annoyed.

My dad called and had it faxed. I went up to tell the DMV guy it was on its way, and he responds with a jovial, "Great! We'll have you take your test while it goes through."

That's right. A test. I didn't study for a test. Insert panic attack here.

The panic attack was a little dramatic (shocker, right? I'm not dramatic at all). It was the easiest test I've ever taken. I got all the questions right. It was kind of a joke.

So I go back to the desk and he enters all my information, and tells me that it'll be $32. I grab my debit card and hand it to him. He doesn't take it. He proceeds to inform me that credit and debit cards are not accepted at the DMV. He'll only take cash or check.

Hello, 1990's.

I seriously had to drive around town looking for a bank. I can't even get to Target without incident!

Anyway, I go into a store, buy my Halloween candy, and get $40 cash back. Then I go back to the DMV, give my new boyfriend his money (true story: he called me girlfriend the entire time I was there. Don't worry, he's old. It's not as creepy). He takes my picture (and tells me I'm beautiful, of course!), and I sign my new name on the little card.

Just kidding. I sign my maiden name on the card.

All that trouble, and I STILL don't have my license. It should be here any day now...