Joy at the DMV

Zach had to renew his driver's license recently. And he had to do it in real life, at our friendly local branch of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). 

In the past, he'd head down there and take care of it on his own. But this time, I asked if he wanted company, and he said yes. So I tagged along.

As you probably know, simple requests can take hours at the DMV. So we packed our patience, charged our phones, went down to the office.

We checked in and took a number. Then we checked the monitor. Only 32 numbers ahead of us. If each one took an average of 3 minutes…well, we were glad we packed our patience. 

The waiting area had half a dozen long rows of folding chairs, most of them full of sour looks and irritable dispositions. A couple folks were slumped in their seats, possibly asleep, definitely somewhere else. But there were 2 empty seats together in the front row, so we nabbed them and settled in to watch the show.

We witnessed the usual misunderstandings: 

DMV rep: Do you have an appointment? 

Civilian: No. 

DMV rep: You need the other line. Next!

And frustrations:

DMV rep: That’ll be $45.

Civilian: I paid online.

DMV rep: It shows unpaid.

And catch 22s:

Civilian: I’m here for a photo ID. 

DMV: Passport or birth certificate?

Civilian: Can’t get it without a photo ID.

DMV: Can’t give you an ID without a passport or birth certificate.

And unexpectedly, we witnessed joy. 

It came in the form of a 3-year old girl named Penelope. We learned her name when they called a number and she and her mom made their way to Window 9, directly in front of us. 

“Penelope! Stand right here. Beside me. Settle down.”

Penelope stood “right here” for a second or two. Then Zach and I watched as she slowly sneaked away from her mother's side and proceeded to swing on the ribbon of the queue in front of us.

She noticed us watching. And what happened next was magical. 

Penelope stopped swinging, and put both hands to her face, covering her eyes.

Zach instinctively called out, “Where’d she go?” 

Delighted, Penelope took her hands down.

"There she is!" Zach exclaimed.

Penelope giggled with glee. Then put her hands to her face again.

“Where’d she go?” I echoed. 

It was on! The 3 of us were covering and uncovering our eyes, squealing “where’d she go?” followed by, "there she is!" and giggling like we’d just invented ice cream. 

Penelope’s mom glanced over her shoulder a few times, stealing a nervous look at the old farts in the first row playing peekaboo with her kid. We must have seemed harmless enough. She let the game go on while the DMV rep told her what she had to do to get what she wanted. 

Eventually, mom finished her business and took Penelope by the hand. We waved goodbye, and a few minutes later, Zach’s number came up.

He passed the eye test, toed the line for his photo, and soon we were on our way home.

A couple weeks later, Zach's license arrived in the mail, and we compared his new photo to the one from 10 years ago. In the new photo, he has less hair on his head, and more lines on his face. His cheeks are hollow now, and his eyebrows and eyelashes are MIA from chemo.

But that smile! It's more joyful and Zach-like than ever, thanks to a 3-year old who refused to settle down, and helped us find joy at the DMV.