A Little Sadness and a Lot of Pride

My baby, my original baby, is a first grader today. I am waiting anxiously to hear all about it.

The bus came and picked her up this morning (way better than last year). Except it wasn't the bus number we were told she would be riding. The driver said "[Pete's School]?" and there were other kids from Pete's school on the bus so I let her get on...

I forgot to put a note in her lunch about how proud of her I am so I wrote her a letter and put it with the mail for when she gets home.

I'm going to miss that kid...

Why Can't They Be More Clear?

We got a form from the school district yesterday about Pete's eligibility to ride the bus next year. I skimmed it and then handed it off to Husbandguy to confirm that we didn't need to do anything, since the info was all correct. I didn't see anywhere in there where it said so. He looked it over and I said, "Right? We don't need to do anything?" and he nodded and I said, "Shouldn't they actually say in there 'If your info is correct, you do not need to respond to this letter'? Because everyone might not be able to figure that out," and he said, "You mean like right here?" and read me a sentence from the letter that said just that and I said, "Oh. I just skimmed it. I must have missed that," and he said, "It's bold and underlined!" Well obviously I didn't read the emphasized part. That's the same as parenthesis, isn't it? They never put anything important in the bold, underlined text. Oops.

Waiting for News

So yesterday, after Pete's bus dropped her off, it was involved in an accident. At the second to last stop, a little girl who had been riding her bike in the street got pinned under the bus. She is currently in the hospital in either critical or serious condition (the reports are mixed). The bus driver has been suspended pending the investigation. With pay. I like this bus driver. She made a point of telling me that Pete was having trouble sitting on the bus and that she didn't want to write her up but would have to if it didn't improve and so we've been working together with Pete and haven't had any trouble in weeks (months?). We ran into her at a restaurant once and chatted a little. She just seems really nice. I am seriously hoping the investigation doesn't change my opinion. But nobody knows anything! The principal called everyone last night (not personally - they have this cool automated recorded message thing) and sent an email too, and she sounded really upset in her message. It was difficult for me to listen to. She knew just a little more than the local news seemed to know, and that's all the info we have still. I'm not sure why it's so important to me to know everything. It's terrible that it happened, but we don't know the little girl - she doesn't even go to Pete's school. Normally I'd be a little interested if I heard something but wouldn't think twice about it after a while, but for some reason I'm waiting for every detail on this one. I don't have anything to say about it really. I guess I just needed to get it out. I hope everyone comes out of this okay.

Since we didn't know the little girl, we decided not to bring it up with Pete but we're prepared to answer questions after school today because I'm sure she'll hear, and it is her bus driver. She doesn't take the bus on Tuesday, though, so maybe tomorrow...

Bad Hair Day

My 6 year-old was just miserable this morning because no matter what she did to her hair, brush it, dampen it, glare at it in the mirror, it always went back to what she described as "bed head." I thought it looked cute, if a little mussy, and I thought dampening it made a big difference. She has great hair, very thick and wavy but soft and shiny when it's clean like it is today, and most of the time it is a battle to get her to even brush it. I think she maybe brushed it one time this past weekend. She always has bed head and never seems to care. Until today. So we talked about "bad hair days" and not letting it get us down all day.

And I'm pretty sure that as soon as she got on the bus she stopped caring that her hair is a little more fluffy than she'd like for it to be today. What a terrible problem to have!

Waiting for the Bus

Birdwatching

From an odd angle in the shade.

"Ooo, Pete! Look at that bird. It's a towhee, I think."

"It's blue, Mom!"

"It's black on its back and orange on its front. See it?"

"Its back is blue. It really is."

"It has to be Spring then, if the bluebirds are here."

"Well, yeah. Duh!"

More Time with Pete

Yesterday Pete's morning bus was about 10 minutes late and her afternoon bus was about 10 minutes early so I got 20 extra Pete Minutes. It was nice.

LL Says:

Waiting for the bus the other day, Lulu and I went outside. While we were out, the poor kitty got sick. Lulu was very concerned. She spoke gently to the kitty, "Okay kitty. Okay. Feel better?" Then she turned away and said, "Nene* turn!" and pretended to throw up herself.

*"Nene" is what Lulu calls herself.

Where's My Baby?!!

You know Pete is almost 6, right? So not really a baby, right? But when she's more than a hour late getting home from school, she's my baby and that's that.

Pete's been getting home a little later than we thought she would when we signed her up for the bus at the beginning of the year because they added another whole route to her bus in the afternoon. I was okay with that. I'd prefer she get home at the time she was supposed to, sure, but it's okay. But then on Friday, the later time came and went with no sign of Pete or the bus. No big deal, things happen and buses get 15 minutes behind sometimes, right? But then 15 minutes went by with no sign of her. And then 15 more. I called Husbandguy to see where he was in case she was at the school and needed to be picked up for some reason, and I started cooking dinner. She'll be here any minute I kept telling myself. And the little Mom voice in the back of my heart kept saying not to think about the fact that every mother who's lost a kid has told herself that very same thing. After 15 more minutes, I called the school; surely someone there would know why she wasn't home. But there was no answer. After 10 rings the fax machine picked up. I waited a couple more minutes and called Rhymes-with-Tennis's mom, because RWT rides Pete's bus too. Her line was busy. So I hung up and turned off the stove and stood in the window and wondered what to do next. Then the phone rang. It was RWT's mom. She was a step behind me, calling the school while I was calling her. We looked up the number for the transportation center and both called. The message at the beginning said that if you were calling about a late bus you should call the school. Since I'd already done that, I waited and when they picked up, I said, "I already called the school and no one answered. My daughter is usually home an hour ago and she's not here yet. Can you help me?" and the lady said, "Is it [Pete's school]?" and I said, "Yes!" and she said, "There's a delay. Hang on," and put me on hold. She came back on after a couple of minutes and asked what our stop was and put me on hold again when I told her. When she came back again she said, "They're 5 minutes away." I was so relieved I didn't even think to ask what had happened until I'd hung up, but I knew Pete would know (another bus broke down and they had to help with that). Then RWT's mom called back and when DH was talking to her, the bus came so we could tell her that RWT would be home soon because RWT's stop is next, I think. And when Pete came in, I smooshed her in a great big hug, and she looked all grown up to be getting home after her daddy. And WHEW! That sucked! I reminded Pete that she doesn't have to take the bus, but she still wants to...

Momlemma

Being a mom, when the school called and said, "Your kid is sick," my first instinct was to jump in the car and go get her. Being a reasonable person, and a mom twice, I recognized that by the time I got Lulu up from her nap and convinced her it was for the best and she really shouldn't yell at me and got her into the car and drove all the way to the school, Pete could be home on the bus. So I asked them to put her on the bus. Now I feel bad. Like I should have gone for her. But she's on her way and it's too late and Lulu got to finish her nap in her own time, which will be better for everyone later.

Worrier and Worrier (update: 4:10)
Rhymes-With-Tennis's mom just called. RWT rides the bus home with Pete but usually gets dropped off after Pete. RWT is already home with a tale: new bus driver - doesn't know where Pete lives - may be going back to school. AAAAUUUUGGH! My momuiltiness is getting worse. Poor kid!!

Ah Dahn (update 4:20)
She's home. She's laying on the couch looking miserable. Feel better, Pete!

Wanna Hear Something Gross?

Yesterday, while we were waiting for Pete's bus, Lulu was wandering around the yard and picked something up and brought it to me saying, "Haycon! Haycon!" It looked like a tiny acorn so I asked to see it and she handed it to me.

But it wasn't an acorn...

It was a rabbit poop.

Oh He's Soooo Funny haha :|

This morning, since it was rainy*, I asked Husbandguy if he'd mind sticking around until Pete's bus came so I could wait outside with her and Lulu wasn't inside by herself. He agreed. It would seem that at some point while I was outside he got a clever idea to teach me a lesson because when Lulu and I went into the kitchen after he left, all of the cupboard doors were open. I do a lot of things that annoy him, like leave dishes in the sink instead of on the counter next to the sink and make him put away his own t-shirts (he's got some complex filing system - I'd just do it wrong), but one of his biggest peeves, apparently, is that I sometimes leave cupboard doors open when I'm finished getting what I need out of them. What's the big deal? It's not like the dishes are going to escape. And the next time you need, say, a cup, that's one less action you have to do to get it. I'm being efficient. Planning ahead. Plus, you can see what's in the cupboard that way so if you want the Clifford bowl and it's in the dishwasher, you just have to look and see that it's not in the cupboard and you haven't spent all that energy opening and closing the door. Efficiency, I tell you! It didn't work, the Lesson Teaching. I'm still going to leave cupboard doors open because honestly I don't realize I'm doing it until he pretends to hit his head or something. Plus, I think it's genetic because one time Meme told me that the Grandpa does it too. So I can't help it. See?

*I'm not lying about the rain. It really is rainy today. And it's supposed to be for most of the day. The reason? Pete's school has a field trip today to pick pumpkins and will be outside all day.

Resolution

The bus picked Pete up this morning.

I Actually Sent This One

I would like to register a complaint against the driver of bus **** in the morning. It is an understatement to say that I am angry. I am LIVID.

My daughter, [Pete], is supposed to be picked up every morning and transported to [her school]. This was supposed to begin LAST Wednesday, August 29. We have been at our bus stop, which is in front of our house on [our street], every day from 8:15 until 8:40 since the 29th, including this morning. The bus HAS NOT come. I am certain that we are waiting long enough because when we arrive at the school to drop [Pete] off, bus **** is frequently already there. This morning, it was leaving when we arrived.

[The AP at Pete's school] has spoken to the driver and to his supervisor. The driver claims that he is driving the route that would include our stop, but this is not possible because if he was, I would not need to drive my daughter to school.

The driver of bus **** in the morning appears to be dishonest and incompetent. I understand that there is a shortage of bus drivers this school year, but I would recommend replacing him. I fear for the safety of the children he does manage to pick up.

Attn: Mr. Bus Driver

How come you get to decide whether my kid needs transportation to school? Do you really think anyone believes you when you say you really are driving the route you're supposed to? What? Does the bus go into stealth mode when you pass our stop? And if it does, couldn't you at least honk to let us know you're there? You know what really pissed me off? It was the fact that you were at the school when we arrived to drop Pete off this morning. If you hadn't been there yet, I would wonder if maybe we just hadn't waited long enough, but clearly, if you had come by our stop, it would have had to have been before we piled into the car and made the trek ourselves. You know what else pissed me off? I was stuck behind you leaving the school. And when we got to that really long light at the end of the street, I actually thought about whether I would have enough time to get out and confront you. I had thought about it at the school too. Lucky for you, I had Lulu in the car. And I hadn't had any breakfast and knew my words would have more impact if I didn't look crazy.

You think you're safe because of the driver shortage, right? Well, you're probably right, but think about this. Today the school called your supervisor. Next week, if you still don't stop for my kid, I'm going to start calling your supervisor too, and I'm thinking I may not mention it to the school so the guy is actually getting two calls about your... slackness. And I might even call your supervisor's supervisor.

It's not up to you which kids you pick up. If you can't find us, ask someone! Pete, really the smartest kid I know, suggested that you talk to the lady who drives the route in the afternoon. She knows where our stop is.

Get a clue, buddy.

Angrily,
Pete's Mom

Nope

It didn't come.

More About the Bus

Okay. Pete came home on the bus yesterday. They were 20 minutes later than they were supposed to be, but I wasn't surprised. I had spent the afternoon watching the clock so I could be at the end of the driveway when she got here, and Lulu and I actually went out early so we were out in the heat for a really long time. But eventually the bus came. And Pete got off. And ran across the street (I need to talk to her about walking feet...). I said, "Yay! You're home." And she said, "They said I was going to have to be taked* back to school."

???!!!

Apparently the driver couldn't find our house. Pete said, "We were even already in my neighborhood!" It sounded like they had even turned into the neighborhood onto our street. Thank goodness they had to drive by here to get out.

Anyway, she's home and today the driver knows where to stop. And she's supposed to get picked up this morning too...


*Yes. She said "taked."

The Bus

This morning, there was a chance that Pete's bus would be taking her to school so we waited at the top of the driveway for 20 minutes, knowing beforehand that we might end up in the car again this morning. Three buses drove by. Two of them had bus numbers that were nowhere near Pete's bus number, but there was a moment of excitement as a bus approached with a number very close to Pete's bus. Turns out that Pete will start riding the bus to school tomorrow morning. Knowing ahead of time that she might not get to ride this morning didn't help very much with preventing Pete's disappointment when we got in the car. But she should be riding the bus home (waiting to hear from the AP about that to be certain). I'll be anxiously waiting from the time her school lets out until she gets here. I'll let you know what happens...

Then Lulu cried again when we let Pete out.

The...(gasp!)...BUS! AAAIIIEEEEE!!!!

Okay. I only sort of feel that way. A little bit of a lot, as Pete would say. I think Pete is too little to ride the bus, but at the same time I think she is big enough, but also she's not. But she's going to. When I talked to the assistant principal at Pete's school last week - she handles all the bus stuff - she commented that she had children, PreK children even, who were getting on the bus more than two hours before school starts!! That's more than two hours on the bus because they don't pick them up that early and take them right to school!!! And some of them are 4 years old!!!! Poor kids! I told Pete that we would still look into letting her ride the bus because she's wanted to ride a school bus since she was a toddler and first noticed those big yellow cars on her way to preschool. The one year we sent her to a real private school she was very disappointed that they didn't even have an activity bus for field trips (I was a little surprised by that too, actually, considering how much it cost to go there), and when we went on her offsite meeting last year, we took an activity bus and she loved it. So I asked the AP to look into a bus stop for us, and I told her that if the bus came for Pete more than an hour before school started we weren't interested. And here's what she found out: the bus will pick Pete up 6 minutes before we would normally leave for her school in the morning and drop her off 4 minutes later than we would normally get home in the afternoon. We can't pass that up. But she's so little. But she's sooooooo excited. We can always change our minds. Right?