THE DREADED SCHOOL BUS

Kalli has just started second grade and we live a distance away from school so she gets to ride the school bus. This is something I never had to do as I lived within walking distance of the school. Well each year something has gone wrong the first time or two that she has ridden the bus. In Kindergarten, I drove her to school in the morning to help her find her class etc., than at the the end of the day, I went to the school and made sure that she got on the right bus and told her not to get off until she saw me at the bus stop. I got in my car, drove to the stop and waited. The bus eventually came and than went, without Kalli getting off. I frantically drove through the neighborhood to the other stops looking for her, than went to a friends house who has an older sister on the bus, they told me that another girl in our neighborhood was going to make sure she got home. I went to that girl's house and she said that she had walked Kalli home. When I got home she was sitting on the couch watching TV as though nothing had happened. Apparently she had gotten off at a different stop and as I drove around she had walked a different way. For first grade she again decided to get off at a different stop than the one by our house, but I had learned my lesson and went right back home just in time to meet her. Well, this year, I again drove her to school, and again went to the school to see her get on the right bus, than went to the stop to wait, only this time the bus came and drove right past me without stopping! Luckily, Kalli had decided to get off a stop earlier and I saw her up the street walking towards home, well the next day, I went and waited at the stop she had gotten off the day before to wait for her and again the bus did not stop! I took Tarek home and she was not there, so I got in my car to go see if I could find her. Two other girls in our neighborhood were walking up a street not near their house, so I stopped to make sure they were okay and knew how to get home, they were not exactly happy and said that the bus driver had dropped them off a few blocks away and that Kalli had gotten off the same bus stop only she had walked a different way, I made sure they knew how to get home than headed off to find Kalli, she was clear on the other side of the neighborhood walking in tears! She had been told that the stop was the last one, so she got off, but than couldn't find her way so she just started to follow the for-sale signs ( I am not sure how she did that, but there are about 20 houses for sale in our neighborhood) Anyway, she was not very happy and really did not want to ride the bus again. So, on Monday, I went to the stop with the mom of the other two girls and talked to the bus driver, figured out where it would stop, and luckily everything went good that day! YEA! I am so not looking forward to the day I have to put Tarek on the bus! Now I know why houses near elementary schools are so desirable.