Get Passports (34 of 40)

My originally-intended 40 by Forty list item was decidedly more lofty than simply Obtain My Passport. Waaaay back, when the most common type of Corona came in a frosty bottle with a slice of lime, I dreamed a dream of European travel. Actually, it was a dream the kids and I dreamed together. In the early post-separation era when the impending unknown was more unsettling than exciting, our collective imaginations were a lifeline of hope in despair. 

Our original idea was to go to England, to visit Stonehenge and uncover all things Harry Potter. First it was to be as soon as I finish school. Then it became after I get established in a job. And just as soon as that happened, the world caught fire, the borders shut down and life as everyone planned it became something new entirely. With four weeks until 4-0, it's safe to say these three Yanks are not going to make it across the pond in time.

Instead, we're going to keep dreaming, allowing life and imagination to morph that small spark of hope into a richer, more meaningful outcome than we originally planned for ourselves. Ava and I are working on learning French, Cash is working on a convincing argument about exploring Japan, and I am virtually walking Hadrian's Wall, a 90-mile route located near the border of England and Scotland, using the Conqueror App. 

And...we are one step closer to our original dream! Last fall I applied for and got my passport and last weekend, I took the kids to get theirs as well. We have plans, BIG, exciting, life-living plans, for 2022 and for the several years to come. Now if only that darn 'rona would cooperate! 

In the meantime, please enjoy (yet another) embarrassing image of 13-year-old Caitlin's passport photo juxtaposed next to my much less awkward offspring: