Each morning, I take the kids to the bus stop, it is to a location a short drive from the house that is in another catchment, neighboring to the one we live in. It allows the kids to attend classes that are smaller than the local district is able to offer, and it allows their district to collect Federal funding for a couple of extra kids, to help keep their small schools funded and open. To get to the stop, I go down the hill behind the house to the river crossing, and then just up the other side.
The other day we came back across the river, and I said that I thought there was an unfamiliar sag in the end of the bridge’s platform. We talked a minute beyond it about how they might have to rebuild the bridge soon, and what the alternate routes to the bus would be.
Yesterday I got a call from our son, who said the school was trying to get ahold of me to let me know the bridge was abruptly closed, and that we would need to make arrangements. Oh boy! No warning at all! I called the school and arranged to pick the kids up myself there. Then I called the county to enquire. That alone ought to say how small a county we live in. The lady explained to me that it had been closed, (obviously), and that they were going to have to rebuild it, and that would be started around March. They ‘might’ get a lane open in the meantime, but she was not sure. Well, if it’s safety you’re after, then convenience has to fall by the wayside, I thought.
So next I got ahold of the bus driver. He is a friendly old fella who makes his phone number available, and we set up to pick them up at the next closest stop. That is not as close as the mile to the bridge, and the half mile or less beyond it that I have had to travel each day. The next closest alternative route is down through Utah, then back up again to where his route comes along the highway and has a stop. It is about seven and a half miles each way. After that, the trip to school is the next alternative, at 15 miles each way, making the whole day a 60-mile drive. That’s a bit much. No! I cannot afford that kind of fuel consumption! It’s a struggle as is! But I will bring my camera along, and with any luck, the new route might provide some fresh opportunities. We will see.
So now, here it is, the next morning. I am awake an hour before the alarm, have set the fire going, and had a coffee already. A quick message back to my sister-in-law, who lives in the UK, and has a day off for a couple of inches of snow on the ground there. I think photo she sent showed maybe an inch and a half on the roads. She knows that over here, that would hardly justify a long sleeve shirt and certainly would not warrant a day off! One might consider leaving five minutes early! But of course, we are set to manage it, and the roads here are not near as winding and narrow, and hilly!
Five minutes now till it is time to get up. I am already, but I might as well start getting my bed made and getting dressed. Away I go!