Back in the Great Lake State

Yahoo! I’m really, truly, legally a Michigan resident again, as of today. I now have my Michigan ID and license plate. When I traded them in as part of my last move, I joked that I’d lost my identity - but I wasn't really joking. My photo underneath the word “Virginia” seemed all wrong; my car looked like it belonged to someone else. I displayed the old royal blue “Great Lake State” plate in my bathroom the whole time I was in exile, while I masqueraded as a Virginian in public. So I’m pleased to report that my true identity is now restored.

I would have made the change back in August, but was holding out in hopes that I’d have a permanent address to print on my license. I couldn't wait any longer, though - voter registration is part of the package, and I wasn’t about to miss that opportunity. In contrast to several nerve-frazzling hours at the crowded, impersonal Tyson’s Corner DMV almost four years ago, this transaction required only a quick visit to the local branch of the Secretary of State, where I didn’t even have time to take off my coat before my number was called (and where I ran into a high school classmate on the way out). Maisie waited for me in the car, and we celebrated with a brisk, chilly walk along the deserted streets of Bay View, welcomed home by gusts of cold wind off the lake.