Here comes the bus!

The school bus is a rite of passage for kids and a breath of fresh air for mammas everywhere. After two years of wasting time in the carpool line, Unnamed Husband and I decided that it was time for kids to ride the bus home from school. Claire and Edwin were super excited when we announced the news and the preparation began.

Verify with school office. Check.

Talk to first grade teacher. Check.

Talk to pre-K teacher. Check.

Find our bus at school and talk to driver. Check.

After a week of coordination, the big day was here. Claire and Edwin could barely contain their excitement.  Armed with signed notes typed with every detail, we head to school. On the way, we go over the rules:

Stick together.

Sit in the front.

Talk quietly.

Obey the bus driver.

At 3:00 p.m., I pick up the twins from Mother’s Day Out and we hurry home to wait for the bus. Cate and David are as excited as I am. We arrive home, grab the camera and head outside to our stop. We wait for several minutes in anticipation. I could hear the bus before we see it and I alert the twins. They start chanting, “BUS! BUS! BUS!” as the yellow wonder turns down our street.  The bus stops at the corner and our neighbors jump off. As the bus heads our way, the twins wave their arms and I raise my camera ready for the perfect shot. I watch through my viewfinder as the bus passes us unnoticed.

For a millisecond, I am stunned immobile. And then like any crazed mother, I start screaming and chasing the bus.

The driver stops 20 yards away and as I reach the door, she recognizes me from the week before.

Ms. Jackson: Are your kids supposed to be on the bus?

Me: YES! Are they?

Ms. Jackson: No, they never got on.

Me: What do I do? {I know. You are probably wondering, why I’m asking the bus driver. But I had NO idea what to do.}

Ms. Jackson: Go check at school, I’m sure they are there.

I grab the twins, race to the car and call Unnamed Husband who excitedly answers the phone in anticipation of the bus report. I frantically spew the scenario and he calls school while I load the twins in the car. Meanwhile I call my friend whose kids ride another bus. No answer.

Luckily, we live close to school and in minutes, I’m there. I run to the after school program and  before I can say anything the teacher says, “They aren’t here.”

I run to the office, where I bump into Claire’s teacher who was retuning from the parking lot. Her face ashen, so I assume she just got called back to school. We go into the office and both administrators are on the phone — one with Unnamed Husband the other with the School Board office. I listen to one side of the conversation.

Administrator: “We think they may have gotten on the wrong bus.”

School Board Office: {insert Charlie Brown noises here: wangh wah wan wangh wan?}

Administrator: “Bus number 2365.”

School Board Office: {wangh, wan wah wangh, wan wangh, wan wangh, wan.}

Administrator: “Oh, it’s a sub. Well, do you have her cell number?”

School Board Office: {wangh wan  wangh wan wangh wan, wangh wan.}

Administrator: “Well, if you don’t have her number…what will happen, if they don’t get off the bus?”

School Board Office: { wangh wan wangh, wan}

Luckily, our school only has two busses so I call my friend again. She answers, I tell her the scenario and she agrees to get my kids off the bus. I tell the office staff that I think all is well and they explain that the kids are on the bus they are assigned to. I attempt to process why they wouldn’t be assigned to the bus that passes in front of our house when I remember that the crossing guard is watching the twins outside in the car.

I arrive to my friend’s house to find my kids snacking on popcorn and sipping juice, thrilled with their bus ride. They never knew they were lost. I peel them away and we finally make it home an hour after their expected arrival.

The next day, we iron out the confusion and the kids on the bus make it home, safe and sound.

But of course, I forgot to take a picture.