Okay, so I spoke too soon! Roadblock number two.

Yesterday drove back up to Grand Rapids to have my birth certificate "legalized" (have an apostille affixed to my birth certificate to be seen as valid by the government of the Netherlands). WELL, the Berrien County Clerk who notarized my birth certificate when I was born has since retired (naturally, as that was 26 years ago). As such, the Secretary of State's office did not have his signature on file to verify the validity of my birth certificate, and told me I'd need to return to Berrien County to purchase a new one, signed by the current County Clerk.

I woke up early this morning, planning on lines at the Berrien County Administration office, but was pleasantly surprised. The woman who assisted me, however, informed me that my birth certificate was indeed still valid! I ended up purchasing a new copy just to cover my bases, and headed back up to Grand Rapids.

Luckily, the clerk from yesterday gave me a return pass, so I was able to bypass the huge lines of people waiting today - it's the last day of the year the office is open. Today's clerk told me the signature was the deputy clerk, not the current county clerk, so it didn't look like she would be able to authenticate the document.

WHAT. THE. HECK?!?!

Laurent wanted to take over, but I said in control of the situation. She initially told me I would need to return to Berrien County once more and then come back to Grand Rapids again before the office closed at seven. I really didn't want to do that, but what could I do? I have to register with City Hall.

She ended up checking for the deputy clerk's signature in the system, which was thankfully there and able to be verified, so that ordeal is finally over! Some of the other students in our Slack message threads mentioned the legalized birth certificate may not even be necessary, but I would rather be safe than sorry!

After several hours of driving, I am just glad to be home spending some time with my family... and putting off packing.