Three Things

Being back at school requires lots of focused "desk time." This means sitting in my office planning lessons, preparing readings and assignments, and grading. In addition, it requires building course content online and answering emails. I've been in the office before 8 a.m. each day, including weekends. Since I have nowhere to go in the evenings, except to the minivan, I've been working late, sometimes until dark.

In the background of all this is the beating of my life's drum. Where will you live? Will the RV be warm enough? Can the RV roof withstand a few feet--or 16 feet--or snow? How do I arrange to get the RV? What do I do with it in winter?

It's clear that the RV will not be suitable for winter in Craig. That's not to say some RVs can't survive the winter here. All I know is that The Godspeed is not well insulated. The walls are pretty weak, and dry rot is evident in wall areas I've patched or repaired.

So I've made plans to stay at a tiny home for the winter months, from January until May. The RV I'll be in storage... somewhere.

Sooooo... while my brain factory is busy churning all this heavy stuff, the gypsy in me is asking: Why stay here? I'm quickly learning it costs a lot to live in northern Colorado. Heck, with the Bidenflation it probably costs a lot to live anywhere. Gas prices have been sitting at $4.19 for a gallon of 85 octane gas. My cars both take 87, but they've been given 85 these last few times. Money is tight. I don't get paid until the end of the month. And when I do get paid, I'll already be $910 short. It cost a lot to get moved up here, so the financial monkey is riding my back. I hope to be able to breathe again sometime this fall.

Good thing I'm still also teaching my online classes for that other university. I'll be back on track, but that also means I'll be teaching eight classes total. That's a lot of screen time. Today, for instance, I worked from just before 8 a.m. until 7:30 tonight. I'm gonna burn out. I feel it.

So, the gypsy asks, "Why stay?"

I've been here two full weeks. In those two weeks, I played a game to find three things I like here. I needed to play this game because I am really struggling to get the vibe in this town. It's not where I want to be. So...it took me a little bit to come up with my list of three, but here it is:

#3 -- On Wednesdays, the gas station where I get ready for work sells two slices of pizza for $3. The pizza is pretty good and makes for a good breakfast.

#2 -- The smell of sweet grass in the field next to the school parking lot surprised me. It's been several years since I've been around it. I'd forgotten how soothing it is.

#1 -- Buena's joy at being somewhere with grass is fun to watch. In the mornings as we walk in to work, she likes to run "Crazy 8s" on the school lawn. She runs full steam in wide loops across the thick green grass as if she's being chased by the devil himself. She even likes playing on the more scraggly grasses and alfalfa on the sloping hills near the school. Sunday morning, I lost sight of her for a moment. When I looked for her, she was on the grass with her ball, wagging her tail. We haven't been around much grass her entire life (5 years), so I'm enjoying watching her play on it.

Just trying to "hang in there." I'm sorry to lay it all out there, but I'm just trying to keep it real. Thank you for listening once again. ❤️

~Pyra