Getting a social security card

  I took Ahren today and we visited the Social Security Administration. That place is waaaay better than Chuckie Cheese. Woohooo!!! Instead of rides and games we got to watch the most interesting characters all around us. There was the young woman, visibly pregnant, with a tattered double stroller holding two more kids in diapers, no shoes, filthy faces and hands. She talked loudly non-stop to whomever had the misfortune to sit down next to her, telling a tale of woe and misery, stolen identities, lost jobs and something about chips on a hotel room floor. Her kids screamed and kicked for an hour until grandma showed up and took them out. Poor Ahren just sat wide-eyed and watched them. I don't think he knew what they were. 

  There was an older man who seemed to be special needs, but obviously did not have anyone to take care of him. He was filthy, dressed in clothes one step above rags and had a long unkempt beard. He smiled sweetly at the children and laughed when they laughed. He might have been 50 years old chronologically, but he appeared more child-like. He needed a Mommy. 

  I stood next to a young man who looked like a rap star off of TV. He was dressed in that fashion, big gold jewelry, dew rag and hat on sideways, saggy baggy pants, etc etc. I smiled at him and he smiled back and we chatted for a few minutes. He looked kind of scary but he was really a nice young man. Plus he smelled a lot better than most of the people there. 

  A cute young couple with a blonde baby girl sat in front of us. The father was dressed rough, had many piercings, tattoos, etc, but you should have seen him interact with his baby girl. The big tough guy turned into a gibbering teddy bear, making faces to get her to laugh, carefully wiping off her hands after she fell on the floor, softly kissing her fat baby neck. It was so sweet to watch. 

  There were a lot of elderly folks there, most of them looking weary and tired, obviously worn out by the whole 'take a number and wait forever' system. I had a hard time navigating through all the information on line as to what I needed and what forms to fill out. I can't imagine what it must be like to be elderly, not good with computers, and trying to get through the system. 

  We got called to window and a very lovely woman helped us. She was so kind and helpful and before you knew it, we were on our way. Ahren's SS number and card will arrive in 1-2 weeks. I had been dreading doing this, but it wasn't so bad. Ahren was perfect the whole time which made  it better. Now the next step is re-adoption and legal name change. Seriously, does the adoption paperwork ever really end? I have been working on it for 3.5 years and I'm not done.