The goal for today: get my younger daughter’s learner’s license transferred to our new province.

Birth certificate: check
Health care card: check
Something with physical address on it: ______

It was the third item that was the stickler for us.  Usually, it would be something like a utility bill, but she has none in her name.

So that meant a trip to the bank.  She had updated her information online, but it only had space for her to add our box number – the mailing address.  There were other things, like her employment status, that it didn’t have the option for her to change.

The nearest branch of her bank is in the town my mother lives in, which is a 20 minute drive away.

No worries.  We could get the letter she needed, like the one I got from my branch in the nearer town, and get her driver’s license transferred there.

When we got there, I showed the lone teller the letter I got as an example of what we needed.

Turns out, she couldn’t write up a letter like that, and her manager wasn’t in.  She could, however, update my daughter’s information and print out a statement.

It took several attempts before she could get a printout that included both the mailing address (which was part of the basic information) and our physical address (which had to be input somewhere else and was not normally included in any printouts).  It was part of the paperwork needed for direct deposits, so when my daughter is finally able to go job hunting and gets a job, she’ll have that on hand.

Great!  It took a while, but it was done.

Next: finding a place where we could transfer her license.

We couldn’t find one.

I realize this is a small town, but you’d think they’d have a public insurance broker somewhere.  Maybe they do, but just not in the business area?  There isn’t much else to the town for us to have explored.

We did go to a department store in hopes of finding some underwear for my husband, that didn’t cost $15 for one pair!  We did find some – three for $15 – but none in his size!

Who knew it would be so difficult just to buy some gitch?

So getting her license transferred meant driving another half hour to the town we usually go to.  No worries.  It’s a pleasant drive with pleasant company.

Besides, the staff over there knows us pretty well by now!

My daughter had everything she needed and a file was started.  She’s never had a license in this province, since she was 9 when we left it, so that actually made it easier.

The hang up?

She doesn’t have a full license.

To get a learners license in this province, she will need to write the knowledge test again.

Which isn’t done in this town anymore.  We’d have to go to another town that’s about a half hour’s drive north of our place, or a small city that’s about an hour’s drive away from home.

The main difference is that the small city has places where we can combine errands and do some shopping.

We have an appointment booked for next week, when the CPP Disability comes in.  That way, my daughter has time to go online and study a bit, in case there are differences between provinces, and we’ll have money for gas and groceries.

At least this is the only delay.  Everything else is just fine, and the paperwork she printed out for us has the file number she’ll need, and we can finish processing for her temporary license in the same place as where she needs to take the written test (assuming she passes, which I have no concerns about).

Meanwhile, they had to keep her old learners license.  Because we’re past the 90 days, she’s not allowed to drive, anyhow.

At least it should be easier for my older daughter.  Hers is just a photo ID, not a driver’s license.

Little by little, it’s getting done.

The Re-Farmer