Mama-Come-Lately

For most of last year, the Boo refused to ride the bus, so I dropped him off and picked him up at school. Every day. And because his school has outgrown its footprint, it’s a time-sucking cluster of an experience that gives me hives.

So when he decided, pretty much on his own, that he wanted to ride the bus back in February, I was elated. I got a bunch of time back, and it seemed he was becoming more independent, which struck me as a good and natural thing. He developed friendships with a few kids he rode with, and playdates ensued. Heaven on earth.

And yet, as good as I feel about this developmental milestone, sometimes he tells me stories about the bus that give me pause. Such as, one day a kid squirted water on him for no apparent reason. Another time, a kid made fun of him for being sad because he missed me. When he tells me these things, I wonder: Is this normal bus “stuff”? What really happens during that ride with all those kids, and a driver whose job is to keep them safe (at which she does a great job, by the way), and several video cameras?

Yes, video cameras. Plural. On school buses. I’ll just leave that right there.

When the Boo tells me about something odd/upsetting that happened on the bus, I counsel him as best I can: Stand up for yourself. Sit with a buddy. Speak up for anyone who’s being bothered. But I don’t offer to start driving him to school again. We believe it’s important for him to learn how to deal with all kinds of people, and the bus seems to be an excellent teaching ground for that. And so far, there doesn’t seem to be anything alarming happening during his ten-minute rides. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to do a little digging, so I went down to the basement and found a subject matter expert: The Boo. He was slightly reluctant to participate but was won over by the promise of doing a bit of typing.

Q: What happens on the bus?

A: Well there are stops and they um you can either get dropped off or picked up.

Q: What do kids do on the bus?

A: Well some kids play, some kids sit around.

Q: How do kids behave on the bus?

A: Some behave bad and some behave good.

Q: What kinds of things do the bad behaving kids do?

A: Pfft. Switch seats. Crawl under the seats.

Q: That seems dangerous. Does the bus driver know?

A: Yes! Sometimes.

Q: What does she do about it?

A: She either tells them to stop a hundred times or makes assigned seats.

Q: That seems like a great idea. On a scale of 1 to 10,

A: Make it 100! Please?

Q: Okay, on a scale of 1 to 100, how much do you like riding the bus?

A: 20.

Q: 20. Why only 20?

A: I don’t have an answer for that.

Q: Last question. What’s your favorite thing about riding the bus?

A: Nothing.

Q: Nothing?!

A: I can’t pick anything. Everything’s so good and I don’t want to give it away. It’s my secret business.