It Is What It Is

"It Is What It Is"

This past Monday we were supposed to fly off on our big airplane back to Brazil.  My "visa card" had expired.  It was a big mistake on my part after years of traveling back and forth.  I had just failed to see it.  Thankfully Byron said,  "It is what it is,"  which became a key phrase repeated throughout the long day.

I'd spent days and days talking to our three-year grand boy about the big day.  I wanted him to have some idea of where Mama was off to.  We'd talked about 'big airplanes' and Mama getting on one.  And now, lo and behold, she wasn't!  I think the biggest disappointment at that moment was how to tell my little buddy that Mama's plane was going now where.

"It is what it is."  What's done is done and let's move along and take care of what needs to be done.  

We had this crazy idea that being right in DC and the fact that a consulate was right there would solve the problem quickly, but alas we've been living in the USA for 7 months and forgot that nothing is resolved quickly in Brazil.  The consulate office hours are from 9 to 1 each day, except on Fridays when they get out an hour earlier! 

We ran into one difficulty after another in trying to do what needed to be done to get a 'temporary' tourist visa to allow me to get back into the country without my identification card.  The ID card serves as proof of my permanent visa status.  Without it I had no visa to enter Brazil.  Funny thing is I left Brazil in December with it and never thought about the fact that it would expire while here.  The card can only be renewed through the Brazilian Federal Police who handle all things to do with immigration and passports.

Byron and I were in DC with our oldest son and his wife, our middle son and wife and their three year old.  The original plan had been:  drop us off at the airport and bid us adieu and then do a quick tour of DC before heading back to NC.  We stuck together to see what the consulate would say and then split up.  Byron and I to find a place to print papers and get ID photos for the forms for a new visa and the kids to do their tour thing.   It seemed like a good plan.  

Getting things done in a place of which you are not familiar is just not easy.  The Internet and Google Maps was a big help.  But by the time we got all the things on the list for a new visa, the consulate had closed for the day.  In a hasty moment we decided to put everything in an overnight special delivery envelope and mailed it to the consulate from a post office that was three blocks away!  We hoped they would be able to start the process the next day.

Alas, the DC consulate doesn't accept visa applications in the mail no matter if you were there the day before or on their sidewalk minutes after they closed... no mercy, in spite of some pleading emails.  It was another mistake on our part.  "It is what it is."

We spent a day wondering and worrying if the Brazilian Consulate would send back my passport, a money order, and other documents or if we would have to go and get them, or if perhaps it was all lost forever.  The consulate did send it all back and suggested we try something new called an E-Visa which meant we wouldn't have to go back to Washington.

We had actually tried to do that in the very, very beginning of the crazy saga on Monday.  The first person with whom we spoke on our morning visit to the consulate had mentioned it briefly as an option.  I had even tried to see how to do it before we started the process for a normal, old style visa since the man suggested if we got all the paperwork back he would personally accept it and try to rush it.  Alas the process to verify your email was several hours long and we felt it was a waste of time.  Another mistake?  "It is what it is." 

Yesterday with returned passport in hand we followed the steps to apply for an E-Visa.  It's significantly cheaper than a regular visa although no different.  It's only for tourism, but at this point that's all I am to re-enter the country.  And no we wait the five day processing time and see what happens.

There was a lot of grief all along the way and a lot of emotions - sadness, frustration, a little guilt and blame.  Thankfully we were with family and had a ride back to NC.  Byron was super and even though I was 'beating myself up,' he never placed any blame on me and actually verbally, out loud blamed himself.   We learned some lessons and who knows hopefully we'll remember them!  

We should know something in the next few days, maybe by Tuesday and we are looking to rebook our flights for this next Friday or Saturday.  God had some reason in delaying our flights.  Time may tell what that is.  And in the meantime...

"It is what it is."