License renewal time

The panic attack came when I got the notice in the mail that it was time for me to renew my driver's license.

What, already? Seems like I just did that.

Well, I did. Five years ago.

But there it was, printed in red capital letters across the top of the notice: "It's time to renew your driver license!" There was no possessive on "driver," but there was that exclamation point, implying some sense of urgency and that I better take care of this matter right now. Right now, dammit!

The last time I had my license renewed, I think I had to take a relatively simple identify the road signs test. You know, what does a red sign mean? What does a yellow triangular sign mean? What kind of information is given on a white sign? Stuff like that. The quiz might have also served as the eye exam as well. At least, as a test for color blindness.

I had until February to renew my license, but I wanted to get this thing out of the way. I decided to go online and study road signs and road markings, but it wasn't long before I learned that North Carolina stopped giving the road sign identification test for renewals years ago.

Uh-oh. Now what? Surely there was some kind of test I had to take. Multiple choice? True or false?

So I googled NC driver's license renewal exam. There were several kinds of tests for which I could practice. I didn't know what to do. I asked some friends what they remembered from their last renewal, and they all seemed kind of foggy about it.

I'm not a person who tests well. I get apprehensive. Edgy. But I wanted to get this over with. So I took a couple of the practice exams until my head started swimming. Enough. Let's do this.

The DMV gives you the option of making an appointment for your renewal, or coming to the local DMV as a walk-in and take your chances on waiting for hours before your number is called, or you can renew online.

The thing about renewing online is that according to my initial renewal notice, if you renewed online last time, you must renew in-person this time. I quickly did the math in my head: if I'm 72 years old now, and my next renewal comes in five years when I'm 77, it might be better to go in person this time.

So I did.

The next day, I drove to the Lexington DMV for my in-person renewal, and sure enough, the parking lot was jam-packed. It was already 1:30 p.m. I didn't want to be there all day.

I was once told that things move more quickly in Mocksville, so that's where I headed. Twenty-five minutes later, I'm in the Mocksville DMV waiting room. There are 10 people in there, three of them waiting for their road test. About 35 minutes later, my number was called.

And then it was happening. My palms were sweaty. My heart was racing. Just like my wedding day. 

Here it comes: the exam.

"Sir, will you please look in the viewer and read the letters on the top line of the eye chart for me?" I was asked.

"M, Q, E, P, C, F, W, ummm, Deee?,Z,G,O."

"Thank you, sir. Will you please stand with your back to the screen so we can take you picture?

Huh? That was it? All that fretting and anxiety for an eye test?

Whew.

Easy peasy.