Turns out I had a bit of a drivers license issue. Oooooops. When we left South Dakota for Germany, it never occurred to me to check the expiration date on my license and to investigate whether or not I can renew it early. Because, let's face it, stuff like this isn't on a normal person's radar unless it creates an issue.
Even though R and I got our SD licences the same day and my number was exactly one number after his, they expired on different dates in different years. Interesting. Once in Germany, I didn't need to bother with my stateside license for any reason after I got my USAEUR license. So when I realized it expired, it was already pretty darn expired. Like, if it had been food, it would have been penicillin or the monster from the food mold lagoon.
From that point on, it was a confusing process. R got to renew his through the mail because he's active duty military. As a dependant, I had a very short window to renew through the mail -which I missed. We heard several different scenarios from the drivers license agency over a period of about six months. The website, for whatever reason, would not load for us while we were in Germany, so double checking the info we got was difficult. The last scenario we heard was that I had to fill out all the forms, which included a form signed by an optometrist, and send in my renewal request with copies of my military id, his military id, and my SD license. This didn't happen before we left Germany for a couple reasons - the walk in hours for the optometry clinic were always when I had the kids and kids are persona non gratas at adult medical appointments of any kind on base.
One of the first things I did when getting to the states was going to see my old optometrist and getting that form filled out. Which we then lost. Cause that's how life rolled in the horrible month where nothing went right. Last week I went to the optometry clinic here and got another form filled out - easy as pie and free. I mailed off the paperwork (and decided against sending pictures of me jumping through all the hoops it took to make it happen) and crossed my fingers. Please come back quickly, I wished.
Wish granted - in the mail on Friday was an envelope from the SD agency that handles licensing. In that envelope was everything I had sent them with a letter stating that I would have to appear in person to get a new license. And retake all the tests. And prove my residency. That's a problem since we don't own property in South Dakota and it's not like we can just hop over there to say hi to the drivers license people.
Onto plan B. We called the drivers license office here and I talked to someone that said I'd have to do basically the same thing that South Dakota required. That's within my realm of 'things I can accomplish this century' because I can prove residency, I can certainly retake the tests, and if R would be so nice as to drive me, I can get to the office - which is open on Saturday. Hallelujah! Since I had to take the written test, I figured I'd better read through the drivers handbook, because I have no idea about Illinois specific laws. And that's how I spent my Friday night - reading a drivers license manual.
The office opened this morning at 7:30, and we were there by 7:24. There was already a line. And it had snowed so the roads were bad. I was not looking forward to this. I was petrified they were going to tell me that I couldn't have a license. I had heard that some states would recognize a USAEUR or expired license with a military ID for 90 days after you arrived in the state. Illinois is not one of those states. Oops. As their drivers handbook kept pointing out (and I grudgingly agree it's true) a drivers licence is a privilege, not a right. Yeah, yeah. Again, this goes under things I wouldn't have thought to check. As I was waiting for my turn, I heard a couple of the examiners say that the roads were too bad to do the driving tests. WHAT?!? You guys don't want to be on snow packed, slick roads with inexperienced, bad, or elderly drivers? Unbelievable.
I get my turn at the counter, explain my situation to the clerk, and she tells me that I will only have to do the written and vision tests. I don't know why they decided not to make me do the driving test, but I am extremely and utterly grateful. Like, bake them a cake a day for a week grateful. I took the tests, had my picture made, and we were in the car heading out by 8:16. No lie. And to top it ALL off, it's an awesome drivers license picture. I'm so happy with it that it's posted below. THANK YOU ILLINOIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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