Thursday, April 16, 2015

Bus Etiquette

Living way out in the middle of cornfields means our kids are bussed to school. Sure, our house is only four miles from the school but the girls are the first ones on the bus in the morning so the bus arrives in front of our house around 6:48 every morning.

This means that by 6:43, we are donning jackets (shoes have been on and tied tight since 6:30, thank you very much) and pulling backpacks on. Lunches are grasped by 6:45 as Tom sets up his station to watch for the bus. He can see it turn onto our road a mile away and so the girls have time to waltz out the door, down the steps and to the near-end of the driveway.

Our girls are ALWAYS standing outside when the bus pulls up. They watch the driver and she makes sure all traffic is stopped before waving to the girls to cross the road and board the bus.

This is how it is done.

This morning was one of the few mornings when I left for work a little early so I could pick up a few things before work. I ended up behind a bus. The bus only had to stop twice while I was behind it but BOTH times the bus stopped and we all waited. And waited. And waited for the kids who lived in the houses where we were stopped meandered out of their homes and very slowly walked down their driveways to climb aboard their bus. One little guy was galloping down his driveway when a woman (his mom?) called to him from the house. He stopped in the middle of the driveway and even started to turn around and go back to the house. She waved him on and he finally made it to the bus, but come on!! It’s flipping APRIL, surely these people know what time to expect the bus, right?

So why? Why must they wait inside their homes on days when it is above 0? Why aren’t they already out there waiting? That bus probably arrives much like our bus, at pretty much the same damn time every single day.

Alyssa has shared her own frustration with some of the kids who ride her bus. There is one house where there are four kids who ride the bus. On kid is always outside waiting. The other’s come out, one at a damn time, taking up to three whole minutes before all four kids are on the bus. Some of those kids are probably inside still putting on their shoes or hell, peeing, as the bus is pulling up in front of their houses.

Bus etiquette isn’t hard. You know when the bus is coming. Be outside waiting for it. Either Tom or I always go out and wait with the girls. It’s just what we do. But we’re always ready, because it’s rude to make everyone wait every single day.

Now, I admit that there are mornings here and there where we’re rushing to get everything done, but the most important things, like shoes and socks are put on WAY before the bus is expected. If we have to throw hair into a ponytail (heaven forbid, Olivia might lose her mind if that happened) instead of an elaborate braid, we could but mostly, our days are structured well enough to be able to always (seriously, we’ve had to rush maybe twice this year and even on those days, we were outside waiting for the bus when it pulled to a stop in front of our house) be ready for the bus on time.

Okay, I think I’m done ranting and gloating. About this. For now.

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