I still think it's too early to be thinking about this. But here we are, with H-Bomb's very first day of Kindergarten merely days away. Never mind that it's barely August, school is starting on the 14th. Yesterday, we met his teacher. We didn't know we already know her. She's actually the daughter of a guy who traps down on the ranch, a guy who made a gun for Number One, a guy who was invited to our wedding, a guy whose other daughter went to school with Number One. So she knows us too. H-Bomb met his teacher, saw his bin and his coat hook, and the boys' bathroom. The important things. He really is excited about all this.
The logistics are complicated, though. I signed H-Bomb up for the afternoon session, not knowing if we'd be able to drive to town and back five days a week or if we'd end up staying at our house in town. It's a dilemma. I'm trying not to get sucked into the whole home school thing. Not really, but it has crossed my mind.
School is 35 miles away from the ranch. (You should know this by now) It takes between 45 to 60 minutes to drive that 35 miles, every time. H-Bomb isn't a morning person, doesn't wake up early, so afternoons, which begin at 11:45am, are better for him, no matter where we're staying. If we stayed in town, we could drive in from the ranch on Monday mornings and drive home Friday afternoons, so we'd just spend 4 nights in town.
The school will reimburse for mileage, since there aren't any buses that run out here. I just don't know if it's worth it. Is about money? Or is it about time? Driving two hours a day for school that only lasts three hours? I bet that will get old real quickly, for everyone involved. Especially since the sound started going out in the van--the sound that's connected to the DVD player, the radio, everything else.
I don't necessarily want to stay in town. Our animals are here. Our garden is here. Who's going to take care of the goats and sheep and dogs and cats and the lizard and the fish and the tomatoes if we're in town and Number One is working on the mountain? Someone could, I suppose; it's not like we can realistically haul the lizards and the fish back and forth on weekends. They'd get tired of it too. But, do I really want a "someone," whoever it may be, in my house so frequently? (you probably guessed the answer is "no")
And then, there's the issue of the house in town. We call it the town house. It's official name is the Money Pit. Just a couple months after we bought the place, there was The Flood. The basement filled with 3 feet of water, most likely from the sprinkler system (although Number One hasn't had the time to go in and dig up the line and find the leak, so we've just had the secondary irrigation water turned off for almost a year). The Flood shorted out the furnace (which took months to get fixed and ultimately killed several of my houseplants, which froze out on the sun porch--ironic, I know). The Flood also destroyed the water heater. Which brings me to my point: this house is not ready to be lived in.
The house came with a range from the 1940's, which while beautiful, also needs some work, and is currently unusable. That means no oven, no stove top. So with no water heater, the only way to have hot water in this house is to run some through the coffee pot. (this cowgirl is innovative). Works for washing a few dishes, but not exactly conducive to bathing two dirty little boys. We need to get a water heater in there, pronto.
With no range, there is no way to cook anything at all. Coffee, boys? Did I mention that the microwave that came with the place quit too? I did order a toaster oven and a double electric burner, so most of our cooking problems are solved. I couldn't find a microwave with a child lock that qualified for free shipping on amazon.com, so that will have to wait. (the microwave is on a built-in shelf, about a foot off the floor. Just the right height for curious 2-year-olds to microwave absolutely Anything to their heart's content. We need a child lock-out feature! and trust me when I say there is absolutely no other place to put a microwave. I'm not even sure I have a place to put the new toaster oven!) I don't use a microwave that much anyway, although it does make quick work of tostadas with cheese.
With no sprinkler system, the grass is brown. I suppose I could live with that for a while, but I'd be embarrassed. The ONLY outdoor water spigot doesn't work either, but that is easier fixed than the sprinkler system, I guess. We'll try to get that done on Water Heater Day, so I can start running an above-ground sprinkler if we're there during Town Watering Hours (no watering from 10AM - 6PM). I swear I'm not making this stuff up!
There are ways around most of the issues, I suppose. We do need to get another bed in there, so the boys don't have to crowd my bed every night. We would MISS Daddy, down on the ranch all by himself. There is a window that needs fixing, or at least more duct tape because the wind is blowing dirt all over my bed.
Did I mention there's no way to do laundry in the Money Pit? I'll have to make sure to bring enough clean clothes to last the week, and haul all the dirty clothes back to the ranch every Friday. Ugh. (I'm sure not going to go to the laundromat. I'm so over those places).
I did haul the bike trailer in to town, although it's currently in part of the kitchen with the bicycle because the "shed" in town is falling down, doesn't close and certainly doesn't lock. (I think it's currently inhabited by a family of homeless cats). So I can bike to school with H-Bomb and Sawed Off in the trailer. Yesterday they thought it was fun. I'm sure it was, due to novelty alone. There are some pluses. If I can find a place to store the bike AND trailer that isn't in my kitchen.
The Money Pit does need some attention, and I guess the only way it's going to get some is if someone is living there, at least part-time. I just don't know why that someone has got to be me. And I don't know why that part-time has got to start in mid-August!
Now I feel like I'm complaining. I know I should be grateful we have a place in town, we have an option to stay in town if we need/want to. We have a roof over our heads, wherever we decide to stay. Four nights a week isn't much. Is it? And with no distractions from the ranch goings-on, I bet I could get a lot of projects done (including finishing the partially-painted town kitchen and town bathroom!) I guess we'll see what happens.
I need to get going. I have a list of stuff a mile long we need to take to the Money Pit.
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