I surrender...part 2.

Don't bother looking for Part 1.  I deleted it.  I freaked out. I have regrouped though, at least temporarily.
Here's what happened...
I was cleaning out my wallet.  You know when it gets so jammed with useless receipts you can't zip it closed anymore? I was there. I was happily putting credit cards back where they belonged. Scooping change up from the bottom of my purse, organizing lipsticks; you get the idea.  Caroline was sitting next to me. She saw my license and decided it needed further inspection (because the picture isn't already bad enough, I need others, my own flesh and blood, pointing that out).  As I wrestled it back from her, I noticed the problem.
My license expires in 6 weeks.  It's kind of hard to get to the Connecticut DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) right now. I absolutely panicked.  Lie down on the couch and wail. Shallow breathing kind of thing.  My husband alternated between being amused and being perplexed but his license doesn't expire for years.
I've learned a few things in Switzerland.  Driving is fraught with all sorts of perils.  You need a first aid kit, a warning triangle, and glow in the dark vests in the car at all times. Booster seats for anyone not yet dating. That's true-kind of.  I've read the average age for sex for girls in Switzerland is 14.  I'm short (stay with me I'm getting somewhere with this).  5'1'' to be exact.  That's about 155 cm. You must be 150 cm and 12 years to get out of a booster seat.  I doubt I was 150cm before I was 19.  And speeding tickets- that could be a blog all by itself.
I've gotten one or two...Traffic cameras are everywhere.  I've never been stopped by the police. I go slowly; I swear I do, but they place the cameras in the sneakiest places.  Coming out of a tunnel where you can go 100km, you must immediately slow to 80. Problem is, you're emerging from the tunnel with vision like a mole rat, the sun hits you, you're blinded, and you miss the sign. Click and a not so flattering picture of you has already been uploaded to space, beamed back down, and the ticket is in the mail before you've gotten home. Anyway...back to my license; for sure you need a valid license.

                                                              
It's one thing to get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday and drag yourself to the DMV where the line starts outside an hour before it opens; it's another thing entirely to figure out the Swiss process. It doesn't seem that long ago that I had to get our permits done.  That involved several trips to the immigration office, biometrics, and one parking ticket.  "Frei" does not mean 'free' as in free parking. It means open, as in spots available.  Gotcha.  Biometrics is a vaguely unsettling idea conjuring up the movie "Terminator." I did it anyway. Nor was it that long ago, I got the kids their bus/train passes. Three phones calls, four offices - the right one was above a bridal shop, one "official" letter, and I was done. I'm just not ready to do this again...
But I must do two things.  Renew my US license.  Get a Swiss license.  I have 6 weeks to get this problem solved.
Start the clock.