Finally, it was my turn…
I had been standing, waiting for 15 minutes…
At the BMV…
To renew my driver’s license.
I stepped up to the counter…
Handed the woman my current license…
“You sure waited till the last minute.”
“Really? It’s only 9 o’clock. Do you close early on Wednesdays?”
“No. Your license expires this Sunday.”
“Well, it wasn’t possible for me to get here sooner.”
Now, this is the part I’ve never learned to…
SHUT UP!
Why do I babble on to people I don’t know?
But babble I did.
Now, if I had stuck to the topic of the weather…
I’d have been in that “fine” zone…
Where all conversations…
Are “fine” no matter who you’re talking to.
But no, I babbled…
"You see, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo…
And have been writing two thousand words a day…
And with all the other things I've got to do…
Plus I had to dye my hair because the roots were--"
Well, her eyes started to roll in their sockets so I shut up.
After my eyes were done with the eye exam…
I sat in front of the camera for my new picture.
“OK, ready?”
“Wait, is there a mirror?”
“Right next to you.”
I stood up and finger combed my hair…
Then threw my head down and whipped it back up…
To fluff it you know, give it volume.
My make-up looked fine, but I did touch-up my lip gloss.
I then sat down and–
CLICK
“Wait! I wasn’t ready.”
And of course, my eyes were shut in the photo.
“Can I redo it.”
“OK, one, two–
CLICK
“Wait! I didn’t smile.”
“You can only have one more chance,” she harrumphed.
So I put my hand up like a traffic cop while I gained my composure…
Widened my eyes trying to make them sparkle…
Smiled, then put down my hand. “OK, ready.”
CLICK
“Yeesh! Can I–”
“No, three times is all you get. And, there’re others waiting."
I looked over to a long line of people glaring at me.
What? I thought…
Is it vain to care what I look like…
In a photo that’s going to last 4 years?
Hmm?
Is it?
Always, Em-Musing
