Renew Pass

A completely normal action: We need to renew the passports of two children... WHY can't this action also proceed completely NORMAL 🤣🤪?!

Monday afternoon, completely normal: prepare snack, get two kids in the car, pick up Nayara from school. Alright, small change, the snack needs to be enough for 4 kids today. Pack Dad's certificate and check all the fine print again. Oops, you also need the original ID of the absent parent. Call Dad, where is his ID?! He doesn't know either, he's lost it a long time ago. And his passport is in the car at the office. Let's get home, I have to leave in 5 minutes (the next bus is sure to come soon 😣).

As soon as we start driving, one of them starts crying because she is soooo hungry - no wonder, we didn't eat anything for lunch 😝. So we dive into the Tupperware and poof, it's almost empty by the time we arrive at the school. We can just about feed Nana, while the others have to 'wait, we'll have a snack break before the passports'.

The waiting time before Nana's training is used this time for styling. Everything is included, from brush to gel, hair clips, and the personal stylist Mom. Aya is soon satisfied, Wiwi is soon adorned with braids, but is still far from pleased. The next screaming attack. She is sooo ugly, it's all my fault, she can't go into the passport office... Calming down is not an option. Eventually, Nana strolls off happily, everything is a bit loud and annoying. In the meantime, Lala is happily emptying my bag - always on the lookout for chewing gum. Lovely to search for everything among bags, banana peels, jackets, and 100,000 hair accessories. Off to the city. Park. Time is good, snack is packed, emergency hairpin purchase for Wiwi is also done. The bangs can't be tamed even with hair glue 😅.

No one finds anything to eat, Mom is getting fidgety. Kids, one more 'I'm-so-picky' move and I'm taking you to India, pah. Bam, the basket is overturned and all snacks are on the floor - aaahhhhh, not that too. Come on, everyone helps. Now to the checkout. Nooo, Wiwi, where are you running off to?! 😡, she still needs an Ovo drink. 5 minutes left to buy hair stuff. We strike gold on the 1st floor: glitter hairband and a happy child again (tear-filled eyes can't be saved anymore, cooling pads are no longer in the bag). At the checkout, a nice elderly lady in front of us doesn't understand German very well and wants to exchange something 🫣. The clock is ticking, the blood pressure is rising. Hurry up the street, brush off an acquaintance, into the passport office and first take a breath. Or maybe not?! Where are the old passports? I thought I put them in the bag. We're already up. I sheepishly admit that I don't have the old passports with me. She: 'Then I can't complete the process.' I asked if I could get them from the car. This is confirmed, but the passport office closes in 10 minutes. This is going to be tight, but we're going to try. Some kids are already very tired, others are running around. No matter, we are practically flying back to the underground garage. And there is the big surprise: No, not the bag-emptying child misplaced the passports, but the mother left them at home 🙈. The woman from the passport office is snippy, but lets us take photos anyway. We have to come back to collect the IDs. Aya has trouble with the fingerprints, and Wiwi is sharply instructed to take off her hairband - hair accessories are not allowed 🤪🤪🤪. Luckily the child has no time for another tantrum and poses for a charming photo (seriously!!!). On the way home, Lala has a tantrum, and to top it all off, she falls asleep as well (result: stays awake until 11:30 PM 😫).