Younger

I am now four days younger, at least officially.

A few days ago, I had to call the IRS to get a document. As I verified that I was who I said I was, the woman on the phone told me that the Social Security Administration didn’t have my correct birth date. I then called social security and learned that they think I am four days older than I am. I don’t understand how I could have applied for passports, filed taxes, etc. without this ever coming up before.

Consequently, I spent some of my morning at the Social Security office setting them straight. I was really dreading the experience, fearing that it would be a day-long headache. It wasn’t; the woman who helped me was friendly and kind. I was out the door within a half an hour.

It was only as I write this that I realize that why I had been dreading it so much was because I had expected the bureaucracy to be like it was in Serbia. I was envisioning a day at the MUP.

As I left the office, the woman who had helped me told me that I have the next four days as a do-over. It’s a nice thought, although I am not quite sure what I will do differently between now and Sunday.