Okay, so yesterday I took the day off of work in order to send Jonathan off to Kindergarten. I wanted to be able to kiss him goodbye and take his picture in his cute little uniform and wish him the best day ever. What I did not plan on, was morphing into a spy.
I did not want to change his routine just because I was home, so Daddy, baby brother, and I all took him to his "Bright Beginnings" program at a very dark and early 6:30am. He was a little hesitant to stay there, and I can't say I blame him. He was tired and didn't know a sole in a place he had never been. Funny, actually. We had plenty of visits to the new school and got to meet his teacher in advance, but was not allowed to visit this program before the first day of school. Perhaps I'll send that idea the school district's way for future kiddos....ANYWAY....as soon as I turned around to leave, the tears began to roll. Poor, baby brother...he got more kisses and hugs than he wanted yesterday. And some tears on the top of his head.
After being at home for awhile, I looked at the clock and realized that the bus should be picking Jonathan up soon to take him to his school. So, Tyler and I decided to drive past the school to make sure big brother got on the right bus. Boy, was the place packed. There, among the slew of insanity, was my little Kindergartner waiting patiently in a line for his bus, sporting his cute little dino backpack. There were no parking spaces, so I did a few laps. After all, there were buses coming and going, so his had to be coming soon. I figured I'd just wait until he got picked up.
Worried that someone was going to call the police on me, I decided to stop circling and park across the street in a church parking lot. It was the perfect view. I got to see my boy and all the bus numbers. All of the bus numbers except the bus number I so carefully wrote on a picture of a bus and taped to Jonathan's lunchbox so he would know what numbers to look for. Panic started to ensue. It was getting later and I still didn't see his bus and at times, I couldn't see Jonathan because of all the ciaos. There were buses everywhere...all but bus #130! Where the #$% was bus #130? Where's Jonathan? Oh, no. He's not there anymore. There is a bus leaving, he must be on that one!
So off I went, following that bus! Needless to say, I am not a good follower and was outrun by a school bus and I lost track of it. Well, now I had to drive past his school to see if I can see him getting off. What if they took him somewhere else?
I could see a group of kids waiting by the doors, but could not see Jonathan. I went ahead and parked in the lot, because there was actually a parking spot, but by this time school was about to start in 5 minutes. I waited so long that Tyler decided it would be a good idea to take a nap, so I then decided I could hang out a little longer, I mean, the baby was sleeping, no need to risk waking him up by moving.
After a couple of buses came and went the teachers waiting at the doors closed up shop and I was left sitting there alone wondering if my sweet, innocent, 5-year-old was inside or lost somewhere in a transportation nightmare.
I debated on whether or not I should go inside to see. Nah, then I would really be considered crazy and be labeled the whole school year as one of those moms. So, I went and filled my car up with gas, because my low fuel light dinged on the way over to the 2nd school, and went home.
I couldn't stand it though, and ended up calling the school just to make sure. I could breathe easy again, he was there. I wish that I could say that was the end of my drama for the day, but it wasn't....
When it was time for Jonathan to come home, I packed Tyler in his stroller and off we went to wait for his return. We were outside for awhile, because I was a little eager, but it was such a beautiful day, we didn't mind. We even chatted with a couple of neighbors.
When I spotted the bus down the street, I got all excited. "Here comes big brother, Tyler! He's home from school!" As I stepped back from the street a little to let the bus stop, I was shocked as it went right past me!! I waved at the driver to stop, but she kept going! If ever there was an OMG moment, that was one. I tried to run around the corner, pushing Tyler the whole way, but again, I was outrun by a bus. (Maybe they need to slow down.) What in the world was I going to do now?! I ran up the other end of the street thinking that maybe he was let off somewhere down the street. No sign of him. I kept looking behind me, no sign of him. This was it. My son was going to be the one in the newspaper in the morning as the Kindergartner left on the bus.
Just then, as I was now running down the street, I saw the yellow giant carrying my baby. I pushed Tyler into the grass and waved like a crazy woman for that bus to stop! When it did and the driver opened the door I believe I said, "You have NO idea the heart attack you just gave me by passing me up like that!" Okay--NOW I have been labeled as one of those moms. She explained to me that her route has her passing our house on her way to another stop first, then she circles back around to let Jonathan off. Sounds dumb to me, but luckily Jonathan threw such a fit at passing his house that the bus driver turned around.
Boy did he EVER get hugs and kisses after getting off that bus! And the tears fell again.
I'm going to chalk it all up to the first day back to school, but if that crazy bus passes me again, I might just have to home school! At least put out an APB!
That was an OMG moment! I would have FAH-REAKED!!!!
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteI would have been going crazy too...My oldest starts Kindergarten Monday and I switched him to a car rider when we went in this morning for orientation. I feel like he's not prepared to ride the bus and would be getting off at the wrong stop or something. I'm internally freaking out about his first day and am praying it goes smooth. I'll probably have a dozen new grays and an ulcer by Monday morning!
Susan
aka The Divine Secrets of a Domestic Diva
Susan,
ReplyDeleteI am soooo with you! I was a nervous wreck for weeks! Jonathan really did well with the bus, though. He paid attention and spoke up to the bus driver when she passed our house, but a momma worries! Hang in there and I'll be thinking about you on Monday!