Thursday, May 23, 2013

Our Merry Go Round

     
    I haven't written in a while. The truth is I didn't think much was going on. I should be working on my never-ending laundry,  but when it's never ending what's the rush? I've been lost in thought today about what's happening out here in Alamo. To be honest it's a weird place. I went to California, for the kids school testing and since I've gotten back, it feels like my days have been running into each other. Ian has worked every day since April 18th. I'm sure his days are blurred even more than mine. It's like groundhogs day; laundry, groceries, homeschool, repeat. When you're in a town this small, and in a group this large, you might find yourself bartering for items.  One day I had to laugh, as someone handed me $10 for a screwdriver they bought off of Ian and I passed it down to Cayla so she could purchase some flour for me in town and she handed it back to repay me for the apples I had purchased through bountiful baskets. We have our own gypsy trading system going on here. Then we had to say goodbye to Cayla and Mike who had moved on to a job closer to home.  Then one day I was running ;ate back to the laundry room, and I met Chandra folding all of my clothes! It was a few day before Mother's Day and I just about cried when I saw my laundry folded. We continued our Sunday potluck dinners. What a neat tradition that Cayla left behind. There's always someone by the campfire in the evenings and someone always has smore supplies. There are five of us gals out here right now.  Which is pretty impressive, when you've been traveling around on your own. This Sunday four of us were walking around Alamo, exercising, laughing and chatting it up. We are all very different gals from many different backgrounds, but we're all here together  For me, it has made Alamo more than bearable even enjoyable. Not to say that every day we have a ball, but what we have here is support for each other . A line family. I find myself depending on all of them at one time or another. Not every job is large enough to have this many travelers on your same path .This sense of community , our little trailer hood, is affected when one of the guys gets injured, which we've had quite a few. Our friend sustained an injury yesterday. He almost lost his thumb. As in, it was dangling by skin. I'm reminded again how dangerous this job is. We have these people in our lives for a small period of time but these injuries can follow them forever.   Ian has all the hours and the time to become a fourth step apprentice. At this point we're waiting for that paperwork to be processed and then he can work on live electricity. We need your prayers. Pray for our friend, pray for our future.        
         We came on the road to stick together as a family and we need Ian to be safe so we can come home as a family. This weekend marks our one year anniversary of living on the road. To be honest I'm not ready to go home. I thought I would've seen more by now, done more by now. There's still more out here to experience. I may get lost in the day to day things like Waylon crawling up on the table every five minutes. Or last night he woke up asleep underneath his bed and our days are sprinkled with baseball, baseball, baseball. But we're still having adventures and there's still more to come. It feels like a change is coming. We've been told we will most likely leave this job any day. There are job opportunities in our territory and it's time for us to go back To the mountain states. I am so grateful to have experienced this type of community on the road. All of us so different,but coming together as a line family. I'll keep you posted until next time...