No One Is Smart When They Don't Think - Part II

When I wrote the post No One Is Smart When They Don't Think a few days ago, I didn't realize how it would come back to slap me like a dead fish. As I wrote it, our passports were sitting in the safe deposit box at the bank. We seldom look at them.

It is very hard to get to Europe in July when your passport has expired in March, eh? I didn't discover the expiration until we were just getting in the car to head to Logan. We rode down and sent Chris and John-Adrian on ahead - their passports were fine. They decided to skip Munich altogether and go straight to Romania. They had to be quite resourceful to accomplish this, as they had paid no attention to the arrangements for the trip until that minute. With Tracy crying in the back seat, John-Adrian displayed the blithe overconfidence that allows him to get through life. "Don't worry. I know Europe like the back of my hand." Well, no he doesn't but they did get to Oradea safely tonight and we're still here in NH, so I'm not in much position to criticise, am I?

Yes, we could have gone to the Boston office the next day and gotten the passports renewed, then purchased new airline tickets and caught up with the boys. We still could, if it comes to that. But hovering by the phone and the email making sure your sons aren't stranded somewhere in Dublin, Frankfurt, Vienna, or Budapest - or Lord only knows where else - does not fit well with waiting in a government office in Boston.

So we're here, and this little mistake cost us $2-3K. Ouch, ouch.

Y'all might take this as a reminder to check your passport expirations, remembering that it takes 10-12 weeks to renew, and many countries won't take you in if it expires within 6 months. You're Welcome.

No One Is Smart When They Don't Think.