The wonderful news is... My passport is found! And the even better news... my passport is valid!! After three hours online yesterday, a trip to Walgreens for passport pictures, a drive to Salt Lake to retrieve my birth certificate, tearing my room apart one last time in hopes of finding my lost passport, finding my passport in the safe, two more hours on the phone this morning to make sure I didn't already cancel my passport yesterday, I think I'm finally 100% sure I will be able to leave the country in two weeks!!
Background: About a month or so ago I realized I didn't know where my passport was. Being the optimist that I am, I delayed reporting my lost passport, as well as applying for a new one, thinking I would find it soon. Finally, yesterday, with no progress made and my trip a mere two weeks away, I decided I had to take action and apply. So, as mentioned above, I spent a significant amount of time researching the process and finding a company (based out of Florida) that could provide me with a passport within two weeks (which is an almost unfathomable feat and thus impressive that this company claims such power).
I drove home to retrieve some documents to send in with my new application, and to my pleasant surprise, Carmen told me she'd seen my passport only two month ago sitting on my desk! With that shred of hope I searched every nook and cranny of my room, but to no avail. Alas! What could be done? But wait, one more brilliant idea from my dearest sister. "What if Dad saw it sitting out in your room and grabbed it and put it in the safe?" Sure enough, she found our father dear, who, thankfully had just returned home from work, and encouraged him to open the safe and find my passport! Drum roll please... he found it! My passport is found! Illhumdillilah!! I should have known it would be there, since Mom thought of that idea a whole week ago! You can always, always, always trust your mom to find something you've lost. At least that's how it is for me.
Rejoicing and giving thanks- hugs all around! Not only did I not have to apply for a new passport and worry that it wouldn't get here in time, but I now had all of my stamps from previous adventures to add to!
But then, a pit in my stomach. I don't remember what exactly happened that caused me to remember, but a vision of an electronic button I'd pushed earlier in the day flashed through my mind. It read, "Warning: If you generate this form, your passport will no longer be valid." Oh no! In my attempts to rectify my situation had I actually made it worse?? Was this treasured blue book with which I'd be so happy to be reunited now worthless to me? Facing the reality of the situation, I continued to gather my documents and prepared for the worst.
In the morning (this morning) I called the National Passport Information Center. They were very helpful yesterday, so with a prayer of faith I called again. This time, Debbie answered the phone and assured me, without hesitation, that the government does nothing if it is not on paper. Actual paper. It is not possible to submit any forms to the government electronically. Bless the old-fashioned methods of the governmental system!! Bless the hoops and the extended amounts of time to process everything! My passport is valid! (Don't worry, I called back and got a second opinion from Brett.) I can go to London!!
Thank you to everyone who helped me in this exciting endeavor and to the internet which, for some reason (divine intervention, I'm sure), decided to work this morning. And to anyone who is applying for a passport or needs information about their current passport, let me know and I'll tell you who's the best to talk to at the National Passport Information Center :)
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