On the road again, forgetful

Nate, Cori and the kids left the farm Saturday afternoon, but it almost did not happen. When they left for Honduras last week, Nate and I took their vehicle to Roger to have him repair the a/c. Though Roger had the vehicle all week, he did not get started on it until Friday morning. Mama and I still had a high degree of confidence that Roger would get it done on time for them to leave by noon Saturday, but just to make sure, we all packed up and went to Bowie to visit Grandma and Grandpa Saturday morning – and to check in with Roger.  

Nate and I visited with Grandma, Grandpa and Norman for a few minutes, then took our leave to go to the shop. When we got there, their vehicle was in the shop, so it was being serviced. That was good. When we got into the shop, Roger began apologizing. He had been so confident that the leak was in the rear a/c condenser unit that he had ordered the parts earlier in the week, but when he got the back unit exposed, there was no evidence of a leak. He was really embarrassed that he had not started on the repair earlier, but at that point, there was little he could offer other than to assure Nate that the leak was in the unit under the dash. That was a repair that would take him two days to make and he knew we did not have that time to offer him. We went back to Grandma’s and let everyone know the prognosis. The bottom line was that the a/c was not going to get fixed, but, on the bright side, we had about two hours to kill – so we went to lunch with everyone.

Nate and I left from Golden Chick to get the vehicle after Nate had said his goodbyes. Roger charged them $60 for the time he had spent on investigating the leak. I could tell, he hated asking for even that much, but he had used over a pound of Freon to find the leak – so the money was to replace the chemicals used. We all headed back to the farm. Nate and Cori packed up the camper, hooked up the camper and headed out for Houston about 2 pm. Not too much later than they wanted, but still without a working a/c. We all gathered and prayed before they left, and the older kids realized that this really was goodbye. They are not planning to see us again before they leave the country – at least, not at the farm. No one was crying. We made a game of hugging one last time, one more last time and so on. Cori said that Savanna is beginning to understand the separation and the fact that she may never be back to Grammy’s farm again. She is struggling with that, but we have pictures and videos that will preserve those memories for her – and for us. Such is the life of missionary children.

In the process of doing normal chores on the farm, Savanna and I had gone to feed the cows Friday evening. With Daisy still in the corral, I have to keep vigil on her feed and water – especially her water. The issue is that the yard hydrant at the barn does not completely shut off. The amount of water it allows to leak through is significant, so I installed a shutoff valve at the well. That means that every time I need to fill the trough, I have to open the valve at the well. When I have filled the trough, I shut the valve at the well. Well, Friday evening, Savanna and I were in a big way of talking and I forgot to shut that valve when we put the feed buckets back in the well house. I did not go back to check on Daisy until late Saturday afternoon. The water had been on the entire time. The corral was a mess. The stream I had created flowed all the way to our stock tank. I was pretty upset with myself but, what, what can you do? The ground will dry out. The well will recover, and Daisy did not run out of water.

Such is the life of a hobby farm owner.