In 2018, I invested in getting passports for all of the Heinisch family members. Doug and I talked at length about taking anyone who wanted to go with us to Canada. We thought that would be a great way for everyone that hadn't been out of the country (all of us except Doug) to at least get one stamp in their passport. Getting everyone passports also fulfilled a promise to Jeanette. She really wanted all of us to have one just in case a last minute trip was planned for out of the country.
Fast forward to 2023 and I realize that life changed a lot since we first got passports in the fall of 2018. Due to school schedules, the worldwide pandemic and Doug's travel schedule, we never reached my original goal. Doug may have traveled to Toronto for work, but until January of 2023 none of the rest of us had traveled out of the country until Brett went to the Bahamas on a wedding cruise. Cal will also have an opportunity to use his at the end of the summer when he travels to Ireland with his friends.
As passports are good for ten years, I truly believe that Meg and I will get to use ours for more than just backup id when flying. Cameron, however, will never get the chance to use his original passport. Since he was under the age of sixteen when he got his first one, he had to renew after five years. Knowing that his was expiring this September and that he really wanted to travel abroad during his time as a student at IU, he and I went to the Post Office this week to get him a new one. It was pretty easy to do and within ten minutes his picture was taken, application was filled out and the renewal was on the way to the state department.
Until today, I didn't realize how much drama getting a passport was causing around the country. Stories of people having to cancel trips because their passport didn't arrive in the thirteen week time period were everywhere. Even those who paid for expedited service were receiving them late. I read about people traveling all over the US as there were so few appointments available in the country at the passport offices. Meg told us that Trent, Nick's brother, almost didn't get to go on his honeymoon because of a clerical error. He tried every day to get an appointment for a new US passport, but ended up having to travel to Canada to receive one from there. Fortunately, he had dual citizenship or he would have missed his trip.
Hopefully, none of this should affect Cameron. He doesn't plan on traveling any time in the near future. The state department has already cashed my check, so I know that they at least have received his paperwork. I'll keep my fingers crossed for now and not worry too much about it.
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