First day of college

People on FB are talking about their first day at college, so here's mine: 

We drove across the state to the college in daylight with the car packed to the gills with everything I thought I needed plus everything my parents thought I needed, plus everything my grandmother thought I needed. The parents sat in front of the car. There was a tiny bit of room left in the back seat for me and my legs. 

I was fine. I was excited. It was wonderful to get away from all my siblings.  

They helped me unload and set up my room. (my half of the room.) Then my mom tried to tell me things / give me advice. My dad stopped her saying, "If she hasn't learned everything she needs to know by now, you trying to tell her everything in the next 10 minutes won't cover it," and he gently turned her away and they got in the car and left.  

I was FREE! No longer responsible for three other kids. Free to be just me. (If only I could figure out who/ what 'me' was.)

Macy's thinks I'm dead

 In years of yore, I was the person who applied for our credit cards and I was the one who used them to purchase things. Now, the application did have a space to put husband's name as well as mine, so yes I filled that part out. I'm a rule follower.  

So the time came when my husband died.  

Some of my credit cards continued to recognize me as a valid user of said card, but not Macys. I don't know how a department store learned that my husband was dead, but Macys also declared ME dead and refused the validity of my card. So -- I destroyed the card and only used my generic Visa there. Every time I buy something the poor cashier (as required) asks me if I want to apply for a store card and every time I have to tell them that Macys thinks I'm dead. Truly they do. When they first took the card from me and I tried to reapply as a single card owner, the powers that be refused my application because their credit check said I was dead. I think that somehow my social security number was mixed up with his in their files and therefore if the computer says that I'm dead, that's it.