Life in the Northwest

Exploring new places, meeting new people, and discovering a few brew pubs along the way.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Riding the bus & Doing the right thing

I never had to ride the bus to school.
My mom got up every morning and drove us kids.
All 7 of us would pile into the wood paneled station wagon,
big kids in the seats,
little kids tossed in the back,
and off to school we'd go.
There weren't seat belt or child restraint laws back then, just words of caution.   Sit down,   hush up,   and hang on!

For decades I did the same for my kids, hauled them to school.
There wasn't a bus to ride.
Yes, I was part of the mini-van, soccer mom set.
Although I never fit into that mold very well.
Then we got the big blue Dodge Ram Van that seated a small army, a menagerie of critters, and two shopping cart worth of groceries.  Well, not at the same time!  I couldn't trust the kids to not eat all the food before we got home!  I really didn't fit in with the soccer mom set then!

But let me get to the point...
Some of the best talks I've had with my kids have taken place while running my mom taxi service, making trips to and from school, and going to and from practices.  I suppose it is largely due to the confined space and their inability to be silent.  Regardless of why,
those were treasured times.
I have missed those opportunities the past 4 years or so here in Salem.  We have an awesome bus service, and while I am thankful I didn't have to take 4 kids to 3 different schools, I have missed the opportunity to hear their stories.

However this year is different...
This year the youngest, #8, was selected to the honor jazz choir.  Hooray!
The honor jazz choir has class at 7:00am in the morning.  BOOO!

I realize getting out of bed at 6:30 to take her to school is not that early for many people.
But I like to complain about it... just a little bit.

I have to admit that I don't mind so much.  It has been a real gift to be up, out the door, and spending a small slice of my day, one on one with my daughter.  We've seen some amazing sunrises, taken a very curvy, downhill street in thick fog, and had a couple near accidents with inattentive trash truck drivers.  But for the most part our morning drives are uneventful and somewhat quiet.
This morning was no different.  Neither one of us said more than a sentence or two until we arrived at our destination.

The mini van in front of us was extra slow in advancing up the line for dropping off students.  Laura wondered aloud, "why are they taking so long?"
I said, "maybe they are having a conversation with their mom."
She wrinkled her nose at me.
Then she noticed, "Oh, its Preston!  I feel sorry for him.  He doesn't have any friends."
"Oh" is all I said.

She continued, "I let him sit by me on the bus ride home because no one else will."
Noticing Preston was half as tall as my lanky daughter I said,
"You can protect him too."
She grinned.
As we moved to the front of the drop off line she admitted,
"he is pretty annoying though."
I told her, " I am glad you are doing the right thing even if he is annoying."
As she shut the car door she said, "I love you mom."

I love her too!



Steppin' out with DWNTWN
DWNTWNimages.me

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