So, how do I start this?! Well, Adrean goes to a Magnet School, so no matter where we live, transportation is provided. Adrean has wanted to take the school bus since he started Kindergarten but I refused! I took full advantage of being able to take him to school & pick him up... This year, I finally gave in to the school bus thing because hubby thought it would be a good experience for him. I just feel like, if I am home all day, I should be able to just drop him off in the mornings & pick him up in the afternoons. I enjoy doing it & I feel very grateful to be able to.
We were told that bus routes would be sent out during the summer before school started.. That didn't happen.. Instead, I was stuck calling a busy line the last 2 weeks before school started. Since I was one of the fortunate ones who wasn't completely relying on school district transportation for my child, I didn't dwell so much on it. In fact, I told Adrean, "Looks like Mommy will be taking you to school & picking you up!" :)
His response was not as exciting, "What?! Are you serious?!" He was so disappointed..
The night before school started, I received a voicemail on my phone from the school district, only stating pick up & drop off time & the bus number but not the location. So, I was lost. The first day of school, Ms. King called me before school was over to ask if Adrean would be riding the bus & I told her that I would be picking him up all week. I ended up seeing on the news that there was a lot of trouble with bus route information & they said to go to the website & type in the student id # & it would give all of the info, so I did. We decided that I would continue to pick him up the first week & that the second week, I would take him to school & let him ride the bus home. I enjoy taking him to school because he doesn't have to rush in the mornings & I get to spend a little extra time with him. I take him to school a little early before the bell rings so he can play & he likes having me there to watch him & to talk to. :) It's those moments that I will cherish because one day, he will be all grown up & not always want me right there with him.
SO! LABOR DAY-NO SCHOOL..
TUESDAY-FIRST DAY TAKING THE BUS HOME!
Well, I get to the location of his bus stop about 15 minutes early, & I end up waiting 20 minutes after the bus was supposed to be arriving. Before all this, I had been nervous all day thinking about the what ifs of Adrean taking the bus home. I started crying once I realized the bus was late & I started to panic thinking what if the bus doesn't come, what if he's on the wrong one, how am I going to find him, I don't even know who to call or what to do! So I end up calling transportation & what do you know? BUSY SIGNAL!
Finally the bus gets there & I see a little girl about Adrean's age get off so I ask the bus driver what school is she coming from, & she tells me Adrean's school along with another Elementary Magnet School. WHAT A RELIEF! I tell her that my son was supposed to be on the bus for the first time today coming home so she asks his name & starts going down the aisles calling for Adrean. She finally wakes a little boy up & tells him his mommy is here & to wake up. She comes back to the front & tells me, "Oh, he just fell asleep, would you like to step on the bus, maybe it'll help to see your face." I get up there looking around puzzled & she tells me, "Isn't that your son standing up?" I'm like, "NO! That's not MY Adrean!" The little boy was confused too.. She was telling me that he had said his name was Adrean but I told her, that's not him... So, she asks the other students to see if there's anyone else asleep & to call Adrean's name.. At this point, I AM FRANTIC! I start going up & down the aisles right behind the driver & there my baby was, in the very back of the bus snoozing, not even knowing what was going on. I wake him up & he was so confused & disoriented. I was like, "LETS GO BABY!" His bus driver asked how old he was & I told her that he was only in first grade so she told me that she likes for the younger ones to sit in the front up close to her so they're not so lost. So we told him that he needs to sit in the front from now on. Poor thing didn't know any better. He said that there were no seats in the front so he just kept walking. But he knows now that he can just tell the driver & she'll find him a seat. So, after all this, we get to the car & I just broke down. I started crying because it had all just gotten to me.. I was so upset & had gotten so scared! The best part out of the whole situation is that once Adrean saw me upset, he told me, "I am so sorry mommy! Let me give you a hug & a kiss. I am just so tired now from being in school all day that I can't stay awake & I thought she was taking me home, not to another school." (the bus stop is at a school by us) That made everything all better for me.
Thank goodness today went very smoothly... He came off without a problem & the bus driver is so sweet! I realized why the bus runs a little behind schedule, the driver waits with the students if there is no one there yet to pick them up, which I can't complain, because these kids are so young & it'd be hard to chase them down if the driver just went ahead with her route.
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