This first week of school? Is exhausting! I am feeling totally fried. Fried! I fell asleep at 9:30p.m. because I was completely exhausted. Which sounds awesome, but I woke up six hours later ready to start my day. If you do the math, that would be 3:30a.m. So I was totally ready for my 5:45a.m. walk, but crashed by 11:00a.m. Yikes.
Please forgive me if this post is not coherent. I am treading water here to keep from sinking.
Originally, this post was going to be about our upcoming Disney trip, but the unexpected came up this week, and I just need to talk about this.
Actually, unexpected is an understatement.
On Tuesday, I was feeling good about Kindergarten. I drove her to school. I watched her go in to school. I was there when she got out of school. I did so well (after a month of crying, of course). Marie did so well. When she got out of school, her eyes were all twinkling! She did so well, in fact, that we had not even stepped foot into the parking lot when she looked up at me with her big, blue eyes filled with excitement and proclaims, “I want to take the bus tomorrow!”
What?! The bus!! Seriously?
I feel that I made peace with putting her in full-day Kindergarten three times a week because it would be good for her; she needs to be more challenged and is craving social interaction. Thomas needed some one-on-one time, too. Everyone was winning from this situation.
But the bus?!
The only people who have driven my baby girl are me, Harrington, my parents, and my mother-in-law.
The bus?!
It has no car seat! I used to be a teacher – crazy shenanigans happen on the bus!
But I let her. Even though it was pouring rain outside and my insides were churning.
And she loved it.
Today at the bus stop, she wistfully looked at the other kids playing at the bus stop. She looked up at me again, with those eyes, and said, “Mind if I go play with my new friends?”
Bravely and over enthusiastically I said, “No, no! Go play! Yea!”
I could hear the presenter in my head say, “And the Academy Award for Best Performance in a Drama goes to . . . Erin!”
Poor Thomas was all confused by his big sister hanging out with these older kids and not standing by him. He tried to fit in by acting like Surg from Toy Story, but his humor was lost on this bunch.
Bottom line: She loves the bus. I hate the bus.
But I am letting her go because it’s my issue. I am the one with very horrible memories of my limited time spent on the bus. Not her.
And because she is Kindergarten, she has to sit in the first two rows and the dreaded Danger Zone at the back of the bus.
So what do you think of the school bus? Be sure to click on The Skinny Scoop survey below. I’d also love for you to tell me your opinion in the comment section.
6 comments:
Erin, you're doing GREAT!!! I also wanted to tell you that I've seen Marie each day, get off the bus and hold hands with her "escort" til she's safely inside, in her line. She looks very happy and so self-assured! Well done :)
Michelle
Aww, thanks Michelle! What a nice compliment! So glad to hear that she is going well without me stalking her.
The first part of your post made me think you have jetlag. The first time I went to Europe I was on that same kind of schedule. Crashing at the wrong time, waking at the very wrong time. It took me a week to get over it.
I can't believe she wants to take the bus! Wait until she's 11 and will PAY YOU to DRIVE HER to school!
Love the first comment! You are clearly doing a GREAT job with your kids!
We still have one more year before kindergarten, so it is very interesting to see what moms are going through!
You should be proud!!! Of yourself AND Gwyn!
I kinda like the bus-I don't do well with traffic. Our school is on busy 4 lane highway and no traffic lights. So, I'd rather them take the bus to avoid it all. I was nervous at first, but they seem to love it. I even let them walk alone in the morning (but I watch them out the window-also, 10yo and 5yo). I walk to the stop in the afternoons and we walk home. And I'm more relaxed not having to deal with people who don't know how to merge.
I can't decide if I'd let Brynn take the bus or not! I guess it would just depend on the kind of child she was. But I have to say, you're doing great! I'm sure it's so hard.
And P.S. Is it COOL to take the bus now? Because when I was in school, it was so NOT cool. Grrr.
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