What do you do when you're 24 hours from leaving the country and you notice that your passport has expired?

For openers, you burst into tears--especially when you find out at 11am on a Friday. Then after a few minutes of feeling bad for yourself, which includes putting your entire family in vacation jeopardy, (although they could go without you) you pull yourself together and let the F bombs fly.

Why the "F" does everyone else in this family have a valid passport but me?

Why didn't my "F'en" husband renew mine while he was renewing his for his business trip?

Why did this have to happen on a "F-en" Friday?

Who the "F" do I have to call to get it renewed by tomorrow?

The good news is that I didn't have to call my entire contact list because the Passport Office was still open. What I did learn is that as long as a person is literally not standing in line with their ticket, there is a way to get the passport in hand in time to make the trip. There is a fee for this service, but at least my vacation was not ruined. Three hours later, I had a renewed passport in my hand. And just for added drama, I was actually the last person they took at the passport office and was the last person to leave. The Passport officers made me feel better when they told me that this is what they do everyday of the week and I wasn't the only idiot who forgot to check their expiration date before traveling.

I'm "F" bombed out, but that's okay, I'll be chilling on the beach in Costa Rica. Whew! Pass the Pina Coladas please.

(Editors Note: This blog originally appeared in 2010 but we're running it again as a reminder to our Mypheme community to always check the dates on anything that expires!)