The following story was originally published on my blog and can be found at: https://beanxiousaboutnothing.wordpress.com/2018/03/12/laff-on-monday-eh-cautionary-tale/
Yesterday Chad and I had a date night and I spent about an hour in the bathroom making sure I was groomed within an inch of my life and putting on my makeup while listening to the RENT soundtrack. I had a song from RENT going through my head and decided to listen to the entire album while I did my makeup in bright shades of purple, blue and a yellow-green that reminded me of that shade of duo-chromatic green with undertones of yellow that was popular in the 90's when I was in high school.
In case you wondered, this is what I looked like in high school. Apparently brushing your hair was just a suggestion back then. :-D And yes, I am wearing overalls. I lived in overalls pretty exclusively from 1994-2004ish. At one point, two of my college roommates threatened an intervention so I'd stop wearing them.
I'm getting my next pair today. :-D
Anyway, back to our story.....
Our senior class trip was to Toronto Canada to see the sights and take in a Broadway show. RENT had just found its way to Canada and we were all excited to see it. (OK, I can't speak for everyone in my class, but I was pretty stoked.)
Right before we left for Canada, it was decided to make the entire class pack their birth certificates because it wasn't quite known if everyone would be checked at the border or if they'd just want passports and such from our foreign exchange students. I mean, I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Now, packing our birth certificates (original copies of course ;-) ) wasn't in and of itself a big deal. But it was decided by our class sponsors that since we were going off to college and into adulthood just a few months later, that each student in the class would be responsible for their own birth certificate.
Can you see where this is going? Great! I don't have to finish this blog.
Lulabelle attempts to exit stage left to hunt for chocolate in the freezer to satisfy her sweet tooth. Meanwhile, the ghost of High School past intervenes to give her a gentle reminder
Dangit! I guess that wasn't quite the entire point of the story. Let's begrudgingly continue.
So anyway, our trip went off without a hitch. This particular story picks up on the morning when we left our hotel. I packed my belongings and made it down to the bus to board on time (we were fined a dollar for each minute we were late to places during our trip. This would be one of the last times I was on time for anything the rest of my life. :-D )
After boarding, I began to have a sinking feeling in my stomach. I mean, it was hardly noticeable at first, but the closer we got to home and out of the country, it grew to such a sickening feeling that I couldn't ignore it.
I couldn't remember if I had packed my birth certificate to go back home.
Yep.
This notion was confirmed when I returned home and went through my things and didn't find it. I knew the hardest part of this was going to be telling my parents. As it was after midnight, I crept to my parent's bedroom door and knocked. My mom answered and had the look of just getting up from a very deep sleep. I anxiously blurted out, "I think I left my birth certificate in Canada," and waited for the parental hand of God to come down on me. To my relief, she said, "It's ok. We'll talk it out in the morning," turned around and went back to bed.
I should have known this wasn't the end of the conversation. But at that moment, I was just satisfied that I hadn't gotten punished. I went to bed, happy and content that this incident was behind me.
Until I woke up the next day that is.
At breakfast, I again mentioned my birth certificate mishap. and to my surprise, my mom LOST. HER. MIND......
"How could you forget your BIRTH CERTIFICATE??!!"
"Don't you know all the things you are going to need an original birth certificate for??"
"I don't think you understand how SERIOUS this is!!"
Ah, this was a fun interaction.
Dear parents, when your kid F's up and needs to be punished, PLEASE take the time to do it immediately so your kid doesn't get a false sense of security and is blindsided later by the consequences of their actions.
Or let them sweat. But tell them that they will be punished later.
Honestly, my parents didn't ground me or take away my phone (didn't have one anyway-HA!). In my parent's wisdom, they knew I'd be paying for this mistake for YEARS to come.
And I have.
To add insult to injury, most of the things I've needed a copy of my original birth certificate (which you can thankfully get for a small processing fee) involve the DMV. A place no ordinary human goes to for a fun time.
This alone is DEFINITELY punishment enough. :-P
It's amazing how many places you need your birth certificate immediately after you no longer have it. And yes, one thing that my mom made me do the next day is call the hotel and ask if they found one.
They did not.
So if you are a young person going out of the country, make sure you make knowing where your passport and birth certificate is at all times a priority. Worst case scenario, get it tattooed on your hip or something.
DO NOT, however, get it tattooed on your boobs. That would create a whole host of other issues. ;-)
I don't know what the solution would be to never lose another important item in your life, but I hope this story made you smile and hopefully you'll remember to remember your birth certificate the next time you need it.
Cheers!
