THE GREAT ADVENTURE

Today was the first day of kindergarten for DS#3. We had to wait all morning. DS started pacing around the couch right after breakfast (can we go now? Can we go now?)

A bus came, but not for DS#3. It was also the first day of preschool for my daughter. DS#3 looked on enviously as she boarded her bus. It didn't help that she was laughing non-stop and singing an obscure bus-song. At least he remembered the rule to stay on the sidewalk. Back into the house we went. Pace. Pace. Pace.

Finally, because I could not stand the pacing any longer I decided we would head to the bus stop 10 minutes early. We stepped out onto our porch to see the bus leaving the bus stop. DS#3 was devastated. I talked to the moms at the stop, it turns out the bus was traveling the route backwards and tomorrow it will be on the original time. Unfortunately, this meant that DS had to do the very uncool thing and have his mom take him to school. He glowered the entire way.

The kindergarten playground was utter chaos. No one knew where to line up (with 5 kindergarten teachers, no one knew which line they were supposed to be standing in). We missed our line by the fact that the crowd was blocking our view of it. I escorted DS into his kindergarten room. Apparently it is still cool to kiss mom good-bye. I made sure his bus number was pinned to his shirt. As I left the room I heard him yell "Teacher, I'm heeeeereeee!" I escaped as quickly as possible.

Now forward to mid-afternoon. DS#1 comes home from middle school. Half an hour DS#2 comes home from elementary school.......without DS#3. I asked him where on earth was my third-born? "I don't know Mom, he didn't get on the bus." Dear Daughter came home as I was frantically calling the school asking where my Angel-Boy was and did-they-lose-him? I had visions of him getting off at a wrong stop and being lost forever. The school radioed the buses and found DS#3 on a bus going in the opposite direction. He was able to tell the bus driver his name and my name. The driver called me and we arranged to meet back at the school.

I broke all speed limits getting to the school. The bus pulled in a few minutes later. DS#3 calmly got off the bus, turned around, and politely thanked the bus driver. The driver commented on how smart and sweet DS#3 was during their ride. As the bus pulled away, DS#3 remarked to me "Wow, that was a great adventure". We drove home and reunited DS#3 with his siblings. DS dropped his backpack on the floor, laid down on the couch and promptly fell asleep. Apparently Great Aventures wear little boys out.

As a side note, I am highly tempted to print DS's bus number in big black numbers on a white t-shirt, which I then would require him to wear every day for the rest of the year.