Hello Tom Jones. It's not unusual for you to want to return home. Especially for your daughter's 21st birthday since she's a lady now. I wish you luck.
You didn't need pictures for a certificate of residence? That's basically the only thing that seems to be a requirement everywhere for a certificate of residence in Thailand. Also how long are you waiting to have them mailed to you? It's actually a free service and paying is supposed to be for quick service. Chiang mai is 500 baht for next day. Samui is 500 baht for same day.
Just get your thai license. All you need to do is bring your license from your home country, medical certificate from a clinic, certificate of residence and do a 5 sec color test and pay the fee. If you don't have a motorcycle license from your country however, you will have to take road and written tests for that though. Although they are easy.