Hang in there fearsgirl. You just have to remember what is important. Your kids grow up so fast and those are the memories you want. Not that your house was always clean. You are already doing the most important job well, being a wonderful supportive parent.  Keep up the good work!

The State Department has announced several rule changes designed to alleviate lengthy backlogs caused by a new requirement that citizens returning from most North American locations have passports. This month, it temporarily lifted the requirement for travelers who have a printed receipt showing they applied for a passport and offered $60 refunds to applicants who paid to have their requests processed faster.

But the streamlining effort hit a snag when some airlines refused to board passengers who did not have their birth certificates.

"We are encouraging Americans to contact the embassies of those countries before they leave," said Edgar Vasquez, a State Department spokesman.

With all the uncertainty, the changes have had little impact so far. Passport agency offices are still overflowing with travelers who applied weeks or even months ago. And private companies that can arrange passports within days are so overwhelmed that many now have waiting lists

Are they selling Springsteen tickets at the Washington Passport Agency?

Judging by the lines outside the passport office, which wrap around the sidewalk like a corn maze, something big has been happening over there in recent weeks. Unfortunately, it's more serious than a concert by the Boss

As many of those who are traveling abroad know too well, new regulations that require passports for Americans flying to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda have caused a major backlog in applications. Even though the State Department recently relaxed the rules for those traveling to these countries through September, the wait to receive a passport has stretched from the standard four to six weeks to 12 weeks . . . or longer.

To catch up on the mountain of paperwork, the agency has extended the hours at some passport offices across the country, contacted overseas offices for volunteers, recruited retirees to return to duty, encouraged other State Department employees to pitch in, and trained and assigned summer interns to passport services, according to Michele Bond, the State Department's public affairs director for consular affairs. "The bottom line is: We need more people to be doing this, and we have been bringing more people onboard for months," Bond said last week.

And still the lines barely move.

On Monday morning, outside the Washington Passport Agency at 1111 19th St. NW, the sense of urgency was palpable. About 200 anxious travelers had formed three lines before the doors even opened at 8 a.m. -- one for those with appointments, another for applicants with letters from a senator or congressman, and a long, snaking queue for people without a confirmed time. In total, Bond said, nearly 625 Americans would visit the agency that day.