I've changed some of the You Tube videos tonight. I have been really, really busy the last day or two. Work has been crazy, life has been crazy, but all's well & we're getting through it. Just wanted to drop in & comment a little. I don't believe in reincarnation, & I don't think my mom does either, but I've heard her say, "In my next life, I'm gonna be..." when she's seen something or someone that has a pretty sweet existence. So, along those lines, in my next life, I don't want to know how to drive. I want to live a life where I can walk anywhere I need to go.
When I was a teenager, I walked all the time. I went to my grandmother's & walked to the store, to all my friends' houses (the ones who lived in town, anyway) & to the post office. I didn't walk to work because I didn't WANT to. But I probably could have. Occasionally I walked to school or home from school - usually, since my house was right along the way, I could catch a ride. And then, I WANTED to drive. I would drive for hours. Huh. Gas wasn't $3 a gallon, either. It was about $0.60 per back then.
Now, I drive all the time, when I'm not working. I left the house at 7:20 am. I took the kids to school - 9 miles - then went to work - 20 more miles. Got there about 8:20. Left there at 5 pm. Went through the Walgreens drive thru on the way home, because they have it down & it really is faster through the drive up window. Got home at 5:30. Rachel had a piano lesson at 6, a half-hour away. While she was practicing, I ate. Then I got cash & took her thru the drive-thru. Then we went to the grocery store on the way home. I got home at 8:15. I put up the groceries & sat down here at the computer. In a few minutes I will go back to the bedroom & read for awhile before giving it up for the night. I put, oh, I'm guessing about, let's see...9, 20, 15, 15, 1, 1, 15...76 miles on the car today. I think. That's better than it used to be. When I worked in Nashville, I put 56 miles on the car just going back & forth to work. Then the kids had ball practice & stuff to do, & there wasn't even a drive-thru anywhere close.
Where we live is somewhat of a central location, being 25 miles from my family, 14 from Randy's mom (opposite directions, of course), 15 miles from each of our workplaces (which are about 8 miles apart, I guess), & 9 miles from the kids' school. And we are really close to church - it's only about 1.5 miles away. But that's the only place we're close to (except for 2 convenience stores within a mile of us) & of course, none of the places I mentioned before are close to each other. Rachel likes to go to another church on Wednesday nights. That's 12 miles in another direction, & in the middle of nowhere. I mean, it's as far from civilization as we are out here. Unfortunately, being far from civilization does not equal privacy. Nothing against the neighbors (today, anyway) but we are surrounded. Most of the time, though, people leave us alone. That's a good thing.
I don't know how we could realistically make life easier. I can think of several unrealistic ways. As long as the kids are in school, I won't be moving closer to work. The cost of housing skyrockets the closer you get to the school, & besides, moving there would be further from work. I figure in seven years, it won't matter how close we are to the school anyway. As long as I'm married to Randy (& that's not really negotiable), quitting work & homeschooling aren't options. And even if I DID do that, we'd still have to go to piano lessons & the grocery store. That leg of the trip was 32 miles. And if I'd had to fetch that prescription (which I might've talked Randy into doing), then it would've been another 30 miles - only a tad less than what I put on the car as it is. And, Randy made two trips to Clarksville today anyway - Derek needed a posterboard for a project & he didn't tell me, he told Randy, who said, "Well, we'll go out to eat while we're up there."
I am thankful that I have a car. How messed up would my life be without one???
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