Last weekend, I went down the hill to pick up one son at his friend's house after he stayed there overnight. This friend is the son of one of my friends. Also the brother of Poppy's best friend. So I've been to their house several times.
They live on a giant ranch that employs many cowboys, all of whom live at and are in charge of what are called "camps." Each man--they are all men--manages his own camp on this huge operation, and they all gather and help each other in turn for big events like branding or shipping.
Because of the size of this ranch, many of the camps are quite remote. A couple of families there that send their children to our school live almost twenty miles from the nearest paved road. Every time they come to school, they first drive forty minutes on a really rough dirt road, and then at least another half hour on the paved road. Getting to town is more like two hours for them.
This house I went to last weekend is comparatively convenient. It's only about half a mile of dirt road, and they're only about a 20-minute drive to the school. It still feels very remote to go to their house, though, because there isn't anything else around it.
18 comments:
What a beautiful landscape.
I think younger me would be surprised by the number of kids I have. I always wanted kids, but 4 or 5 seemed right when I was in college. I also didn't want to have any kids after I turned 40. Neither of those played out. 😉
I'm somewhat surprised I've been teaching at the same place for 25+ years. I never thought this would be long term. I always wanted to teach math, and I'm doing that, but I thought high school would be my milieu. Turns out that college level works best for me. ( I think preschool would be fun- I loved volunteering with my daughter's class.)
Younger me would also be disappointed about the lack of makeup, hair products, and shopping trips in my current life.
The focus on physical activity and exercise. Almost all the girls I knew, especially in high school, didn’t even think about running or swimming or biking or any real exercise. As you know, all the credit goes to your dad on that lifestyle for all our family.
Younger me would be amazed by a lot of things...
-- that I'm not yet married (at age almost-47) and have zero kids -- because I knew from the time I was 4 that I wanted to get married and have kids. Nope. (This will be the precise inverse of what my sister will say, if/when she has a moment to comment on this post. She was never getting married and NEVER EVER EVER HAVING KIDS. She and her husband have five.)
-- that I don't teach. I graduated high school and went into college knowing for sure that I was going to be a teacher until I retired. I'd been certain of that since early elementary school. Nope. For better or worse, several of the upper-level classes I took as an education major made it really clear to me that teaching wasn't a workable life plan.
-- that I worked at a newspaper for 14 years. That outcome from what started as a part-time summer job was nowhere on the radar!
-- that I returned home to southwest Kansas. Younger me certainly never planned to return. When I did return, it was a stopgap -- just something to do until I found something else to do. Nearly 12 years later, I think I've found my something else to do, and it's right here in southwest Kansas.
-- that when I returned home, I not only returned to living with my parents (another stopgap that became permanent because it has worked out really well, both for me and for them as they are getting older) but also returned to working in the family business, something I swore I was done with as a sophomore in college. Wrong.
-- that I'm now a full partner in said family business, along with having a small and completely unrelated freelance side hustle. I never envisioned myself as a business owner, definitely not of two businesses and most especially not of our family business, but here I am. At this point, I would find it exceedingly difficult (impossible?) to go back to working in a business owned by someone else.
-- that I'd fall for a local boy that I met at a Super Bowl party, and that we'll probably get married someday. Younger me would find all aspects of that mindblowingly incomprehensible: I don't like or care about sports (attended the party only because a friend was hosting), I had very little liking for most of the residents of my hometown (OK, that part is still not entirely untrue, with a few major exceptions!), I wasn't going to marry someone from my hometown but rather someone much more cosmopolitan and cool (we make plans, God chuckles).
Good enough, sorry for writing a novel in your comments -- your question made me think!
-- Karen.'s sister
I am amazed to live in the Midwest, having growth up and gone to graduate school in the West and having lived in the East for a number of years. How did this happen? Mary in MN
No apologies. It was supposed to make you think! I enjoyed reading your answer.
It's surprising that I live in the house I admired when I was in high school. And that I married young, which was not in the plan. I did realize my goal of attaining an education, learning to ride, and teaching at the college level. Overall, I traveled more than I might have expected , though less than I would have liked. And I ended up close to where I started.
My friend is both a preschool teacher and a high school history teacher. She always says she likes the very littles and the almost-growns, but not so much in between. So maybe preschool is in your future after teaching college. :-)
Thanks, Dad! Or should that be: Thanks, Dad?
My husband preceded me in death. Still a bit of a shocker.
Not all the surprises are good ones, that's for sure.
AND my life going on, it is and I have. We will all be together in the same place in the end.
Thank you for the daily peace you have brought to my life with your writings. I truly thank you! Bless your contributions to a sane world. The small things are forever the most important.
Beth
That anyone would want to marry me. I am homely and not even interested in trying to make myself look less homely with hair dyes or fancy clothes. I am somewhat shy. I married my husband not believing he really loved me that much...and here we are married for 40 years and I finally believe him that I am the love of his life and that to him I am not homely. To even write that brings tears to my eyes.
That's a love story! ❤️
I love this one. How great you guys found each other.
G.P.: You're very welcome. Thanks for reading!
That you found one another, that you're married 40 years and counting, that you are (truly) the love of his life, that you finally believe it -- this is absolutely fantastic all the way around! What a delightful comment to read.
-- Karen.'s sister
Another true love story. Hugs .
I could hardly quit now...I was here before the babies!
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