We just got through Veronica's first week of school. She is definitely enjoying riding the bus. It's one of her favorite parts of the school day. The other favorite parts are lunch and snack. According to Veronica, the rest of it is just "boring stuff." Okay, now the promised tale of Veronica's first attempt at riding the bus. The loading process went perfectly. All five of us went down to the bus stop to wait for the bus and watch Veronica get on. David had gone back to our house to get his car because he wanted to follow Veronica to school, but didn't get back to the bus stop until right after the bus left. Fortunately, I think that our stop is one of the last, if not the last stop before the bus gets to the school. So David drove to Halcyon Elementary and arrived right before Veronica got there. He walked into the school with her to make sure she went to the right room, but he could tell that she knew what she was doing. And that's the part of the day that we were most worried about! Then at the end of the school day, I went back down to the bus stop with Harrison and Violet to wait for Veronica. Or, at least, that's what I had planned. Veronica's bus is supposed to get to the stop around 3:26. At about 3:15, I headed out (the bus stop is about a 5 minute walk). As I had just gotten out of the driveway, I heard the bus turning down our street. After it passed me, I immediately started running after it. Now, bear in mind, that I was pushing a double stroller loaded down with at least 65 pounds of toddler and pre-schooler, plus any of the junk that they had dragged in with them, so I wasn't quite able to sprint. As I saw the bus stop in the distance, I kept straining to see Veronica, hoping that she would know that this was her stop and that she should get off, but I never saw her. I was also hoping that the bus driver would wait for me to get to the stop, which thankfully she did. I'm sure she realized that this crazy woman barreling down the street with a stroller probably wanted her to wait. When I got to the stop, the bus driver said that Veronica didn't get on the bus at school. I got on the bus and looked around and called out her name just to be sure, but sure enough, Veronica was not on the bus. So I started walking back home with a million ideas rushing through my head about what could have happened. I figured that she probably was waiting in the carpool lane because that's what she did last year--but I knew that her teacher knew what bus she was supposed to be on and that she was riding the bus. I got home and put Harrison and Violet in the van and ran back inside to get my purse. At this point the carpool line would be almost done. As I was coming in the house the phone was ringing. It was Veronica's teacher who said that Veronica was with her in her classroom. She apologized that they had a new dismissal system in place this year that neither she nor Veronica had heard them announce her bus. So I drove to Halcyon, parked, got Harrison and Violet out of the van and back into the double stroller, and went to Veronica's classroom. But, neither Veronica nor her teacher were in there! I wasn't sure if I should wait there or not, but just decided to head to the main office. On the way, I passed Veronica's Daisy Scout Troop Leader who is now teaching special education at Halcyon. She said I should just go to the office. And that's where Veronica and her teacher (Mrs. Cleondis) were! Veronica was disappointed that she didn't get to ride the bus back home that day. It turned out that she did hear them say "Orange Bus" (her bus), but she was waiting for them to say her name too. (That's how the carpool line worked--they announced her grade and then her name). But since that first day, every day has been smooth sailing. Yes, Veronica did come home on the bus the next day! She is also getting to meet some more of the kids in our neighborhood, even though they don't all ride the bus (or even go to public school for that matter!). Yesterday she and Harrison even went over to one girl's house to play in her wading pool after school for about an hour. That was the first time Veronica has ever done anything like that. I was somewhat concerned about how Harrison might behave, but it turns out he was a perfect gentleman--even though he did strip down right in the back yard to change his clothes. Veronica was good too--until it was time to go. When I went back to pick them up, Veronica was yelling and pouting and throwing a fit because she didn't want to go home. I've heard stories that I was the same way at her age. I guess what goes around comes around! Uh-oh!
