Today I finally went to the CA DMV and applied for a CA drivers license. Luckily I made an appointment so my time at the DMV was only 1.5 hours. I had to prove who I was, get my picture taken and take a written test.

There were 36 questions on the test. I was allowed to get 6 wrong to still pass. I got 3 wrong. Two of the ones I got wrong were because of the words “not” and “except” which messed me up. Read test questions carefully people to avoid looking like a maroon.

I missed the question about when it is legal to drive with parking lights on because I was thinking they meant fog lights vs. what I call hazard lights. oops.

Also did you know it is illegal to smoke in a car if there are persons under 18 in the car. Thats cool – glad its a law. I guessed on that btw – I didn’t know they made it a law.

Folks that didn’t make an appointment had to wait at least 4 hours – sucks to be them. Sadly one of them was a man dressed in military fatigues – I think anyone serving in the military that arrives in uniform without an appointment should get to skip the others. IMHO

Getting my CA license was kind of a big deal for me. I’ve been in Cali for over a year now. Aside from the fact that I loved the picture on my TX license and didn’t want to take a new picture, another reason I had avoided getting a CA license is because truly it was the last step in leaving TX behind.

During my first 3 months here in Cali I spent many days in tears or close to them. The sadness lessoned a bit more with each passing month over the last year but I struggled often in that year. I missed (still miss) my friends, my kids schools and the home I had built with my family. I still really miss my island. What my middle son called the “world’. It was the command center of our home in TX. It is where homework was done, cookies were rolled out, eggs were dyed, meals were prepared, friends gathered, and BUNCO buffets were enjoyed.  Our kitchen here isn’t large enough for an island and thus my husband is unable to give me the “world”. Alas – it is not the end of the world. We will find a new place to build memories.

While waiting at the DMV I spent time remembering my friends in TX. I have stayed in contact with many of my TX friends. Some I talk to weekly, others less often, many only in Social Media. Time and distance will not diminish the love I have for my friends. There truly are people that come into our lives and change us. Many make us want to be better people because they inspire us, help us see the beauty around us, let us laugh and learn from their mistakes as well as our own, stay close when we need them, and give us space when we need that too.

The truest friends will never leave us despite distance, time, difficult times, or differing opinions. They will build us up when we are at our lowest and stand by us when we fall. I likely looked like a real goof siting at the DMV smiling to myself thinking of my friends back in TX as well as many new friends here in Cali. I realized having a Grizzly Bear on my drivers license doesn’t mean I have left TX behind after all – TX and all the beautiful people that made my life so wonderful are with me in my heart.

Oh another thing I will have on my drivers license – a pink dot. A pink dot that identifies me as an organ donor. Thinking of our own mortality is not easy but thinking of the mortality of another that could be saved because of a pink dot is EASY.

Today is a No Diabetes Day. There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than a chronic autoimmune disease.