Remember When You Could Keep Your Old Licenses

Prepping for my move the last week meant I was going through cabinets that hadn't really been looked at for about four years.  That was an avalanche of memories and some funny old stuff.

I came across my first two licenses from Washington State.  I grew up in the Seattle area, and I'm not sure if this was something unique to Washington, but back int he late 1990s, when you upgraded your license, you were given your old one with a hole punched in the middle.

I know that's not the case any longer as you surrender your current, and depending on what state you call home, either wait for a new one to arrive by mail with a paper temporary (our system in Idaho), or leave with one generate on site.

I was really glad to find these in my cleanup.  It brought back a ton of memories.  What I was doing and who I was spending time with when I got that all-important first license and was allowed to legally venture out on my own.

What it felt like to weight under 150 pounds.  Something that never happened again.  What it looked like to 50 pounds in just a matter of two years.  Also, that annoying reminder to any establishments I might have attempted to patronize, that i was "not 21 until 080699."  Got it, thanks Washington.

It's funny how little these things meant to me when I saved the licenses.  I'm not honestly sure why I did, but it was a cool surprise to find them and have a chance to think back to those times captured in those awful DMV pictures.