Are you sure I am the gal for this job?

I walked into my new classroom yesterday for the first time since the end of the last school year.

It is far too hot and summery outside to be looking at that nonsense.

This classroom used to be for 3rd graders, hence the cursive alphabet on the wall.  I am going to have to find a gigantic ladder and take those down and put up my first-grade printing alphabet.

Oh, the humanity.

***

Big changes are happening for my girls.

First, Kate is about to journey far, far, far, far, far away to school.

Like really far away.

We brought her dog, Niko, and met up with her and her very nice boyfriend to say goodbye.

Hadley’s boyfriend, Kason, just left for Coast Guard basic training.  He will be gone for 8 whole weeks and this makes Hadley very sad.

It kind of makes us all sad.  Kason is a fun dude to have around!

Kason’s mom snapped this photo of Kason’s dog waiting for him outside his bedroom door the first morning he was gone.

And that made my feeler’s sad.

Hadley starts college locally here in a couple of weeks.

And please let the records show:  She misses Kason.

***

David and the boys are getting hay.

All the time.  Every day.  Always.

Let’s talk about the process of acquiring hay.

It is the worst.

That’s really all there is to say about hay.

It is 2022.  Shouldn’t we have figured out a better way?

Reader.  Have you ever had to buck hay bales?

Anyways.  Because we are who we are, David’s truck broke down in the middle of a hay field the other night.  He asked me to grab his work truck and come meet him, and I obliged because that’s the kind of gal I am.

David and the boys loaded up in the work truck and we went to a neighbor friend’s house to borrow his farm truck.

And, oh!  Have I told you?

David was promoted at work awhile ago.  He is like a manager type person and no longer drives a work van.

He drives a nice truck and the A/C in that thing is certainly something to write home about.

So, David wants to stay in the field with LD and continue to load bales with the help of farmer friend’s truck.  David would like it if HD and I towed his broken down truck to the mechanic.

Let’s discuss.

David’s broken down truck is the same truck he has had forever and breaks down every 8 weeks.  It is the biggest truck in the world.

Reader.  I bet no one else has a truck this big.

We cannot even insure it with our other vehicles.  It needs its own “commercial” policy.

HD, who is 15, is going to be driving the nice, new work truck and will be towing me, his mother, in the broken down truck.

When towing, one should always strive to be the tower and not the towee, but I had no choice in this situation because David was worried the broken truck would slam into the nice work truck and since I am 41, I was in charge of making sure that didn’t happen.

I knew things were about to get dicey when right away the tie down strap we were using to tow snapped.

David gets a chain.  The chain is, oh, maybe 8 feet long.

HD starts to pull me and I become quickly aware that there is no power steering or brakes in this gigantic truck and I am not so sure I will be able to guarantee that I will not slam into the work truck.

Me:  David!  Are you sure I am the gal for this job?!?!

Reader.  He gave me a thumbs up and went back to bucking hay bales.

In all honesty, HD handled this situation like a champ.  He suggested we call each other and have the phones down but on speaker so we could communicate.  He would warn me if he was letting off the gas or needing to brake.

We were even being all safe and cautious and had our hazard lights going. It was all very intense.

When we were on the highway, he would tell me we were going to steer closer to the shoulder to let others pass us and I just felt he was very mature and handled it well.

And let the records show:  HD and I successfully towed David’s broken truck with David’s nice truck and no bad luck befell us.

When we arrived at the mechanic, I put the key in the overnight drop box and then went back and pulled the emergency brake on the truck.

I have no idea why I did this.  But it just felt like the right thing to do after such a harrowing experience.

***

Check out Matilda’s handsome son-

He should be on a calendar or something.

***

I was checking out at the grocery store and the cashier asks to see my ID so she can confirm I am old enough to purchase alcohol.  She confirms and hands me my ID back.

Bag Boy:  Wait?  Are you really 21?

Me:  Yes.  I am 41.

Bag Boy:  No way!  You don’t even look 21!

So, in summary and summation, I have a new favorite grocery store.

Happy Thursday!