The bus fiasco

Just when I thought I was well on my way to earning my elementary school mom badge, we've had a little setback. First, let me brag that we have had 3 days in a row of being on time for school - with a home-packed lunch. Now, let me reveal my inadequacies.

I put Pressley down for her nap in plenty of time for her to get a nap and then walk with me to the bus stop, but she decided to chatter for an hour before she fell asleep, so I ended up having to wake her to go get Evan from the bus. We arrived at the bus stop about one minute before the bus came rambling to a stop. Yesterday, I had to get all the way onto the bus to fetch Evan because he doesn't know his stop yet and couldn't hear me calling his name from the front. Today, I boarded the bus just as his little friend, Mark, was getting off. I asked Mark if Evan was coming and he shook his head "no." I asked Mark if he had been sitting with Evan today and again, he shook he head "no." My bad feeling was quickly justified as I reached the back of the bus without finding my child.

The bus driver, Ms. Bailey, calmly informed me that he probably got on the wrong bus and that the other bus driver would bring him back to school when she finished her route. I wasn't so sure. You see, this morning, Evan asked if I would pick him up today. He said he liked riding the bus yesterday, so I told him we need to stick to riding the bus OR having mommy pick him up, but we couldn't go back and forth. And then we got out of the car and got caught up in the chaos of drop-off and didn't really finish the conversation. So, I had visions of him insisting to someone that he wasn't supposed to ride the bus.

So, I raced home from the bus stop. Well, as much as you can race with a 3 year old who has been awakened from her nap prematurely and who keeps getting phantom "sand" in her shoes, requiring her to stop and remove them every 10 steps. I kept telling her that Evan was "lost" and we needed to hurry because mommy was worried. She received this news by stopping in the path and crying at the top of her lungs "I want Daaaaddy!" Spectacular. My response: "I kinda want daddy right now too."

We finally made it home and into the car and headed up to the school. The office people were very nice and helpful. To make a long story short(er), the principal got on the phone and located the driver of the bus they thought Evan was on. He was. They told me the driver would bring him back and I should just wait at the school. And then they presented the form, in my handwriting and with my signature, where I had written the wrong bus number FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES.

After I was reunited with Evan, who was not nearly as shaken by the experience as I thought he would be, I stopped to look at the bus route sheet posted in the front window, ready to point out to someone that my error was completely justified. But there it was....in black and white...our bus stop...on the OTHER list. Oh, the shame!

When we got back home, Pressley burst into tears and started following Evan around until he finally came to a stop. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight and said, "I LIKE you Evan. I was scared." Priceless. First time I've teared up all week. I guess she wasn't deliberately being difficult during our walk back from the bus stop. Poor baby was just worried too!