Final Step. Calgary.

My kid is already more travelled than his father. He's two months old. Thank you immigration(???).

Yesterday was a big day. I drove to Calgary at 3:30am in order to make it to the US Consulate there for my 8:30 appointment. Yes I realize I left 5 hours early, but I knew I would be stopping to feed Warren before we got there, and I also knew I would be dealing with rush hour traffic on Deerfoot Trail... It made sense to me. Good thing too. I ended up getting to the Consulate at 7:50. Perfect timing because I wanted to be there by 8:00am at the latest. I needed to report Warren's birth as a US citizen born outside of the US, apply for his passport and his social security number.

The drive there was... dark... 3:30am is a time I'm not usually acquainted with, especially on the road. There was minimal traffic, so things went pretty smoothly. Warren was out cold in his carseat thanks to my amazing mom who tried her hardest to keep him awake in the hours before we left while I got in some much needed preparatory sleep.

I stopped in Red Deer, parked in a deserted Staples parking lot (because it was 5:30am) to feed Warren and decided that I would just try to find a place in Calgary to change him. That plan was good in theory. After continuing on the rest of the trip, with Warren falling into a milk coma almost immediately, I had to deal with my first snow storm of the year. It was scary... and dark... so all the snow flakes reflecting the light from my headlights and those of the pre rush hour traffic didn't help with my visibility. I was a trooper though. A responsible one at that. I slowed down to ensure the safety of me and my child. I feel like I experienced the protective mother instinct in full force as I was driving through that crazy snow storm. I hit full on rush hour traffic once I got to Balzac. (That's right. Balzac. My favourite place to celebrate with my friends via text. "BALZAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!") Thanks to my handy dandy GPS, I was directed exactly to where I needed to go.

Since I'm not too familiar with Calgary unless it's to get to Peter's Drive In or getting to Banff, I couldn't tell by the address that the Consulate was right in the middle of downtown until I got there. Downtown = Terrible parking. I was simultaneously trying to figure out which building it was after the GPS told me I had arrived at the destination and trying to find parking. I ended up pulling into this random private parking lot just to get my bearings and prepare for my next attempt at finding public parking. Then a security guard came up to me because I had invaded his territory. haha. I told him I was looking for the Consulate and he said I was close and would direct me to the right place. Then he stopped and thought a bit, then told me I could park there and directed me to a stall. After getting everything situated and prepared to get into the Consulate (baby in sling, papers, diapers and wipes, wallet in purse) the security guard pointed to the building and told me it would be $10 to park there. I kinda did a double take, and then thought to myself that he was probably just gonna pocket that $10 for himself. haha. But I thought, whatever. It would be just as expensive no matter where I parked. Good on that guy for seizing the opportunity.

So the building that the Consulate is in is completely unmarked. The address isn't even on the outside of the building. Dad said that's probably done on purpose to deter anti-Americans. haha. I guess... You can always count on Americans to be overly cautious with their security.

My plan was to try to feed Warren a bit and change him before I went in so he would be happy, but that ended up not happening. A line was already starting to form when I got there and I learned in Montreal that you don't wanna be far back in the line because that means more waiting. More waiting with a little baby = potentially bad. I was told that I wasn't allowed to bring any bags or purses inside the Consulate, and could check it at this deli place that was across the hall. I didn't really have any choice, even though I had made sure to take only what I needed and put it in my purse before I went in. I went to the deli place and emptied everything out of my purse (wallet, papers, diapers, nursing cover, and spit up blanket) and had to pay $5 for them to hold my empty purse. Dealing with all that loose stuff and a baby isn't the easiest thing ever...

I had to go through airport equivalent security, which meant taking Warren out of the sling, and going through a metal detector, then going to sign in with a lady that told me I needed an Express Post envelope so the things I was applying for could get mailed back to me. So I went to another place in the lobby of the building where I paid $15 for this envelope. After telling all this to my Dad, he said "Wow. Their economy must REALLY be struggling then". haha. Anyways. I went back to the Consulate and they made me go through the metal detector AGAIN, so I had to take Warren out of the sling, blah blah blah, all over again. The difficulty level was increased by the amount of loose things I had to hold on to because of my lack of purse.

I was lead by another security guard to the elevators, and once I got off, oh guess what... ANOTHER METAL DETECTOR!!! This guy was nice though and didn't make me take Warren out of the sling again. He gave me a number, and FINALLY I was in. I had the second number so my wait wasn't very long.  When I was called up, I was quite pleased that the lady that was helping me was very kind. She asked for all of the stuff she needed, and thanks to my experience in Montreal, I was fully equipped. When she asked for the proof that Ray has lived in the States for at least 5 years of his life (which is what I didn't have in Montreal), I handed over this stack of papers that Ray had sent to me, and she got wide eyed. haha. It was awesome. She was impressed with my preparedness. She went to photocopy everything, and I went to pay for everything (not cheap), then I had to sign some things and TAH DAH!!! All finished! I was told that the passport and report of birth certificate would be mailed to me within two weeks and his social security card will be mailed to our apartment in Colorado in a couple months.

I'm SOOO relieved that everything is finally finished. I've got all my papers, and Warren's are coming right away. I can officially start planning my great exodus... That's not without lots of emotions ranging the entire spectrum though. I'm so happy to finally be able to be with my husband permanently, but I'm freaked out more than I can express at the thought of being away from my mom, the rest of my family and my friends that I've had for years. I'm gonna suddenly change rolls and I'll be the one in charge of Sunday meals. No more showing up at my parents and being fed. I feel like I'm just walking into a lot of responsibility and change all at once, so it's really overwhelming. I'm just glad I'll have my husband to support me, and our little family will be able to grow together. I know I've already got great friends in Colorado waiting for me, and I know I'll make great new friends. It's just a lot of scary change that's freaking me out pretty bad...

But life must go on. And as of now I'm tentatively planning on leaving on November 21. I'm driving down, and plan on making it a 3 day trip, which means I'll be there to celebrate American Thanksgiving. Since Warren needs to eat every four hours, it'll be a good way to make sure I stop and rest. He's such an amazing traveller. I'm really blessed to have the baby I do.

I'll accept any and all prayers asking for strength to make this transition smoothly. I need all the strength I can get. Thanks friends. :)