When we began talking about taking a vacation to Mexico I knew I needed to go apply for a passport as soon as possible. I checked the official website to make sure I had enough time to apply and get my passport in time. At the time it was taking 6-8 weeks. I applied on January 27th with no worries about my passport arriving in time.

Last week a coworker asked me when I applied. I told her and she said she had heard it was taking 10-12 weeks because people were so frantic to get their passports. I began to worry then because when I had applied I had exactly 10 weeks to my trip. When I got home that night I went back to the passport website and it did say there was an extended time of 10 weeks due to high demand. I saw that there was an option to check you passport application online. I put in my information and it was not found. I was getting really worried. I also found a forum with stories of people having a hard time getting any info on their passports. So I decided to call the National passport office to check and make sure they did in fact receive my application. After waiting an hour, the lady I talked to said my application was being processed in Charleston. She then asked me if I would like to expedite my passport. So of course I said yes. I gave her my information and credit card number. I felt much better and was able to get some sleep.

I continued to check the website all week and my bank account for any activity and there was nothing. I called the National passport office again on Monday morning and was once again told my passport was being processed in Charleston and no it was not being expedited because they were not allowed to do it unless it was 14 days before your trip. When I asked when my passport would arrive I was told to call and check every week. I decided to do one of my two options left to ensure I got my passport in time. Call my Senator. I called the Senators office at 8:30 A.M. and talked to a nice woman named Caroline. She was very confident about my getting my passport and asked me to fax over some info.

This afternoon I got a message from Caroline that my passport was located and it is being sent Fed-Ex. She even gave me a tracking number! I was so happy and relieved! I wanted to scream and jump up and down but, I couldn't cause my kids were napping. I did do a dance later cause I AM GOIN TO MEXICO!!!! Thank you Caroline. :)