Ah, the name changing.

We’re back! I keep promising updates and failing- sorry about that! Those of you who follow us on social media (me: IG @JenniBerr and Sarah @chandlersarahb if you don’t…) know how busy life has been and busy in a really great way!

So name changing. Wow, what a process. We’re happy to report that we’re all done! Everything at this point is moved over to Sarah’s new legal name which is pretty exciting. Everything went really well with one exception… TSA.

Since we travel so much we both are PreChecked so we can get through security faster. It’s great… minus one time in Hawaii, but… that’s another story, which, may actually be here somewhere already, but… I digress 🙂

The process of name changing was lots of lines, lots of paperwork, but generally, pretty “easy” which sounds pretty nuts. Well, everything was easy until TSA came around. So Sarah sent in her paperwork with the fine print of it possibly taking 3 months. Seriously, first thought… if we can get Social Security taken care of in less than ten days before having the new card in hand, what the heck takes TSA so long? Ugh. But, whatever… we sent it in with plenty of time before our trip to Florida and the Bahamas we went on in July.

Time has ticked by and at the end of the three-month window, Sarah calls because we haven’t heard anything, just to check in. They claim that the process has changed and we need to submit a new form or something. Sarah asks if they have her info, to which they say “yes” but she needs to complete some other BS form. She completes the form and sends it in, with both of us wondering when in the world they were ever going to call and let us know we were missing some “new” form or if they were just twiddling their thumbs waiting for us to call. We will never know… but fast forward a month…

We’re coming up on middle of June(ish… it all blurs together these days) and I mentioned that we hadn’t heard anything and we were coming up on our vacation. Sarah calls and they assure it’s there and safe and they’re working on it. Fine. She finally gets and email stating it was done and it was under the name, Sean Nicole Berrett. Seriously?! We were sitting in Toby’s gymnastic parking lot when the email came through and she frustratingly threw her phone at me before putting her head down on the steering wheel. You’re kidding right? Who in the world looks at that and thinks those names go together. What the F. I was pissed. I was sooooo mad. I wanted to call that office right then and there and give them a piece of my mind. They had the correct name right there on about twenty different papers. Really? Like…. SERIOUSLY?!

Sarah, being the sweetheart that she is, even under these circumstances, calls and talks to them all sweetly while I’m seething and threatening to open a can of whoop-ass in the next seat. They assure her that they will rush the process so she will have everything done and settled by our trip. Great. Thanks. I lecture on her need to be more assertive, and she rolls her eyes… just another day in the Berrett house.

So finally, the new paper with Sarah’s updated PreCheck information shows up to our house dangerously close to our trip. Thank goodness. Waiting in what would turn out to be a gnarly security line could be avoided! But wait… we’re not done. The paperwork is made out to… Dun dun duuuuuun….

MR. Sarah Nicole Berrett.

Again… I go into a rage, Sarah’s about to cry, we’re crying/storming around the house…. You’re kidding, right? This is a joke, right?! We come to the conclusion that they were without a doubt, messing with us. We gave up. We’re done. Her gender marker would be changing soon and we’d have to go through the entire process again and at this moment, it wasn’t worth it. Sarah calls a friend who is going through everything we’re going through just basically a year or two ahead, and I can hear the “WTFs” coming through the phone from the other room. It was everyone’s reaction.

So, TSA… you suck. We got through security just fine, but still. Seriously? So unnecessary.

Jenni Berrett on FacebookJenni Berrett on Instagram
Jenni Berrett
Just a mom, wife and middle school teacher doing the best I can to be a great role model for my own kids as well as everyone else's. Follow my wife's transgender journey as seen through our eyes. 🏳️‍🌈👫➡️👭+👦👦=👩‍👩‍👦‍👦🏳️‍🌈
IG: @jenniberr
FB: JenniBerr

About Jenni Berrett

Just a mom, wife and middle school teacher doing the best I can to be a great role model for my own kids as well as everyone else's. Follow my wife's transgender journey as seen through our eyes. 🏳️‍🌈👫➡️👭+👦👦=👩‍👩‍👦‍👦🏳️‍🌈 IG: @jenniberr FB: JenniBerr
View all posts by Jenni Berrett →