Our accountant told us that we needed a social security card for Spencer and Vitaly and so I started checking into how to get one for them. I guess that I imagined that we could go online and type in a few things and the cards would appear in the mail soon after. Well not really that easy :)
I called the number and well if you are bored and feeling exceptionally patient sometime, you should call and see how much fun you can have with that automated system. Finally I got a live human on the phone and an answer that we had to go to a SS office and there was not one in Logan and that I should go to Ogden. Since Ogden is about an hour away and I didn't want to take my chances at getting a person again, I asked what documents I would need specifically and gathered the birth certificate (from Ukraine) and the adoption decree and felt very satisfied that I was on my way to a brief, delightful experience. Dave and I decided to stop in Ogden on the way to see his mother in Springville and after I went through the thorough security check at the door I walked into a room FULL of people. Frankly, it was a little like being back in Ukraine. I texted Dave who had to wait in the car because he had forgotten his driver's license and was therefore not allowed past the checkpoint. I had to take a number and wait FOREVER to get the priviledge of seeing a person behind the glass. When I did I was told that I didn't have the correct documents. I needed to have their passports, visas and certificate of citizenship. I told my sob story about coming all the way from Logan and now being late to see my mother-in-law and how I had called ahead and these were the documents I was told I needed. Even though it was Christmas and my only crime was being nice and adopting 2 boys from Ukraine, No luck, No mercy another trip would be required and the nice lady wrote on a sticky notes the things I would need "next time."
It took a few weeks to get my nerve back up to go back. This time I was on the way to a Save a Parent luncheon and planned for an extra hour for the SS stop in Ogden. Same airport security at the door, same elevator to level 2 but this time the room was even more packed than before. I tried to find a seat next to someone who looked like they wouldn't kill me. The only smiling faces in the room were the big pictures of President Obama and Joe Biden on the front wall. As I sat WAITING I eavesdropped on the stories of my fellow guests. This is some of what I overheard:
*An upset man representing his father who had an issue with his Social Security. He hadn't brought the father because the last time the old man had had a big tantrum and it was too embarrassing.
*a man who needed some kind of documentation to be able to stay at the homeless shelter.
*a man who needed to understand that if he recieved Social Security he would no longer recieve unemployment
*a young mother who had not recieved her baby's SS card and thought it had been stolen and wanted to know if someone had stolen her baby's identity.
*a mother who had brought many children and needed a replacement card for her daughter to get a license.
*a man who didn't know why his SS had not been adjusted for inflation.
*a woman with a disabled son who had multiple questions about many things all while the son (about 17) was yelling, "Come on Mom, That's enough..Let's go"
I finally got the same agent who had sent me home before. I had the right paperwork and all was good. As she typed she chatted with me about everything from the price of shoes at NYC department stores ($1,500) to how the hill people of Kentucky will actually kill you if you trespass on their land.
FINALLY we were done and the cards were underway and should arrive soon. I was an hour late to the lunch but still had a wonderful time with some of the nicest people on earth.
P.S. A warning to anyone who is tempted to steal the SS cards from our mail.....
DON'T
