I love May and hate May!

May, as I said, is the month of holidays. The flowers are in bloom. Sunny days with perfect temperatures become predictable. Beach picnics begin.
But it's also the month for a whole ton of administrative stuff to be done. Since we moved here in May 2007, we have to renew our resident visas every May. This, in itself, is quite a task. Thank God we have an immigration consultant (provided to us by Amadeus) who has connections at the dreaded prefecture. To do this without such a connection would be an absolute nightmare. It makes the chaos at the INS in Miami for people applying for green cards, etc. look like a walk in the park. And I'm not exaggerating. I could write an entire blog post just on that. The opening time alone reminds me of the running of the bulls: hundreds of people pushing and shoving and shouting and cursing and fighting to get to the front of the line. Children are knocked down. It's seriously outta control. With our consultant, we get to enter the building through a private entrance and bypass all that nonsense. But even with the consultant, there is still a great deal of paperwork to be done ourselves, not to mention the ten million photocopies of every document you've ever owned in your life. I think we've probably killed a whole forest in the amount of photocopies we've made since we have moved here. Robert continues to be convinced that this inefficiency is just a means of keeping French government employees with jobs. After all, 25% of the French population work for the government.
In addition, French taxes are due in May. Although this is not the most complex of tasks, it still requires a great deal of time on my end, as I'm still new at this, and every year our situation seems to change slightly, but just enough to result in a ton of more things to figure out. And getting answers in France is not easy. Government offices don't have answering machines, you just have to keep calling until you get someone. (and have I mentioned you have to pay to speak to a customer service agent???!!!) And that NOTHING is open between the hours of 12 and 2, which is precisely when Ryan happens to take his afternoon naps. I am very grateful for my huge community of expat friends, many of whom have already been through these processes and have helped show me the ropes. I also have to get our US tax returns done, since these are due on June 15th, for US residents living abroad. I have become quite proficient with the filing of US taxes, but of course our current situation makes everything ever so complicated and takes forever.
We also have to apply for Andrew's school in May. More photocopies (of all the same documents provided last year), more trees killed. And the deadline for registering for summer activities is also upon us. After my recent visit to the Guichet Unique, the governing body that administers the school enrollment, summer programs, etc. I am quite tempted to not bother with any summer camp programs for Andrew. To be pleasant, the lady at the front desk was not very friendly, nor helpful. I'll leave it at that!
On top of everything else, I have been relentlessly trying to register with the CAF, another government agency for family benefits. I know that we are entitled to a monthly sum, based on our current situation. We are actually eligible for this monthly sum until Andrew turns 18. (kind of like the baby bonus in Canada) My current problem is that the CAF only has record of 1 dependent in our family: Ryan, naturally, because he was born here. To be eligible for this benefit, you must have at least 2 children. So, I'm trying to prove that Andrew is our child and that he entered France legally, with us, when we moved here. I just found out today, from our immigration expert, that the particular documents the CAF are waiting on from the Prefecture do not exist anymore. Apparently some law was passed in 2009 that changes things for people in our situation. So, she advised me to go to the CAF in person, speak with a manager (which I can only imagine will be all but impossible) and present a photocopy of the court ruling that she gave us. I have a strong suspicion that I am not going to get very far with this, though I will try my best, and may have to resort to paying for professional assistance in resolving this. After all, these efforts will be well worthwhile once we start receiving benefits.
So these are the reasons I do NOT like May. Since I am the only French-speaking adult in the family, it all lies on my shoulders. Perhaps if I had an unlimited amount of uninterruped time, I'd be fine. But I've been typing this while feeding Ryan. And now I smell a poopy diaper. And then it's time to go pick up Andrew and take him to music class.