So today marked another milestone. Probably one which most parents don't really think twice about, but it was a big deal to me. Heath has been asking for the longest time to catch the bus to school. Bear in mind that he only started school late August last year, so although he's in grade 1, he's been at school for not nearly as long as all the other grade 1's. AND .. okay I'll admit, being my 'first' i probably mollycoddle him too much and was holding him back for my own selfish reasons ..
When he first started asking i simply told him he was too young .. his reply .. "Well, Marshall is 6 and he catches it!" .. "well, you're not 6, Heath!!" .. "but i will be soon, and then i can catch the bus, right?" .. "yeah yeah .. sure. Whatever" .. i probably should have thought about how soon he was turning 6, but i didn't .. so as May was approaching and he was about to turn 6 years old, he was asking again .. "I'll be 6 soon, and then I'll catch the bus won't i, Mum?" .. "we'll see" .. "But mum, you said .. " .. "I know, i know .. but we need to make sure the bus comes near our house!!" .. "It does, Riley said it does, and Dad said he's seen it too" .. "Ohhhh, THAT bus .. well, that's a different bus that goes to a different school Heath. That's not a bus that YOU can catch I'm afraid. It doesn't go to your school!!" .. for the time being this stopped him from asking .. i hadn't ruled it out in my head, i just didn't want to promise him that he would catch it as soon as he turned 6, i wasn't sure if he was ready, and i wasn't sure if i was ready!! .. Up until now i drove him in every morning and went with him to the library and waited while he read his magic words with his teacher, then made sure he had everything he needed for the day and said goodbye ..
.. Right as i was running out of little 'untruths' to delay the whole bus thing, it just so happened that we were leaving our house the same time as the bus was pulling away from the stop which is 2 houses from ours, collecting a small group of children, some of whom Heath knows, and all in the Branyan uniform ..
"MUM, they all go to my school!! They're on the wrong bus!!!" ..
And of course, as we continued the drive to school, there was nowhere to overtake the bus so we had no choice but to sit behind it for the entire journey .. all the while with Heath commentating .. "what's gunna happen Mum, when the bus takes them all to the wrong school?" .. "MUM, MUM .. I'm worried for my friends who are all on the wrong bus .. can't you make the bus pull over?" .. at this stage I'm clinging to something from above to save me .. dear deceased relatives, you should have helped me out here, couldn't you see how desperate i was?!?! .. all i had was the radio .. quick Sharon, turn it up louder .. "Heyyyyy, we love this song kids, let's dance!!" .. too late .. the bus is at the intersection, if it turns right, it's going to the 'wrong school' .. if it turns left, well then I'm doomed. Of course, it turns left .. of course, it indicates into Heaths school .. of course, we sit in the car as all the kids start getting off the bus and Heath excitedly screams .. "hey, there's Marshall, and Riley, and Sarah .. and Emily!! .. AND .. all the kids who were waiting near our house... MUM!!!" ..
.. so .. like .. stupid radio for not playing a better song! 'sexy and i know it' would totally have distracted Heath but Mariah Carey just didn't cut it. Shit.
There was no more stalling to be had, it was time to let him grow up and do the independent thing. So up went a sticker chart, he had to show for 2 weeks that he was able to take responsibility of his school things, which meant carrying his own bag .. packing his own bag at home time and making sure he had collected everything, and last but not least, he had to also show for the 2 weeks that he could eat breakfast, brush teeth, be showered, dressed and ready by 7.50am .. all of which he did. (one minor hiccup where he misbehaved and had to prove himself for an extra week) .. so today, he caught the bus for the first time. And, like any psychopath Mother, i took a million photos. Yes, yes i did. I'm not even joking! And that's not even the worst of it, my friends!
When he first started asking i simply told him he was too young .. his reply .. "Well, Marshall is 6 and he catches it!" .. "well, you're not 6, Heath!!" .. "but i will be soon, and then i can catch the bus, right?" .. "yeah yeah .. sure. Whatever" .. i probably should have thought about how soon he was turning 6, but i didn't .. so as May was approaching and he was about to turn 6 years old, he was asking again .. "I'll be 6 soon, and then I'll catch the bus won't i, Mum?" .. "we'll see" .. "But mum, you said .. " .. "I know, i know .. but we need to make sure the bus comes near our house!!" .. "It does, Riley said it does, and Dad said he's seen it too" .. "Ohhhh, THAT bus .. well, that's a different bus that goes to a different school Heath. That's not a bus that YOU can catch I'm afraid. It doesn't go to your school!!" .. for the time being this stopped him from asking .. i hadn't ruled it out in my head, i just didn't want to promise him that he would catch it as soon as he turned 6, i wasn't sure if he was ready, and i wasn't sure if i was ready!! .. Up until now i drove him in every morning and went with him to the library and waited while he read his magic words with his teacher, then made sure he had everything he needed for the day and said goodbye ..
.. Right as i was running out of little 'untruths' to delay the whole bus thing, it just so happened that we were leaving our house the same time as the bus was pulling away from the stop which is 2 houses from ours, collecting a small group of children, some of whom Heath knows, and all in the Branyan uniform ..
"MUM, they all go to my school!! They're on the wrong bus!!!" ..
And of course, as we continued the drive to school, there was nowhere to overtake the bus so we had no choice but to sit behind it for the entire journey .. all the while with Heath commentating .. "what's gunna happen Mum, when the bus takes them all to the wrong school?" .. "MUM, MUM .. I'm worried for my friends who are all on the wrong bus .. can't you make the bus pull over?" .. at this stage I'm clinging to something from above to save me .. dear deceased relatives, you should have helped me out here, couldn't you see how desperate i was?!?! .. all i had was the radio .. quick Sharon, turn it up louder .. "Heyyyyy, we love this song kids, let's dance!!" .. too late .. the bus is at the intersection, if it turns right, it's going to the 'wrong school' .. if it turns left, well then I'm doomed. Of course, it turns left .. of course, it indicates into Heaths school .. of course, we sit in the car as all the kids start getting off the bus and Heath excitedly screams .. "hey, there's Marshall, and Riley, and Sarah .. and Emily!! .. AND .. all the kids who were waiting near our house... MUM!!!" ..
.. so .. like .. stupid radio for not playing a better song! 'sexy and i know it' would totally have distracted Heath but Mariah Carey just didn't cut it. Shit.
There was no more stalling to be had, it was time to let him grow up and do the independent thing. So up went a sticker chart, he had to show for 2 weeks that he was able to take responsibility of his school things, which meant carrying his own bag .. packing his own bag at home time and making sure he had collected everything, and last but not least, he had to also show for the 2 weeks that he could eat breakfast, brush teeth, be showered, dressed and ready by 7.50am .. all of which he did. (one minor hiccup where he misbehaved and had to prove himself for an extra week) .. so today, he caught the bus for the first time. And, like any psychopath Mother, i took a million photos. Yes, yes i did. I'm not even joking! And that's not even the worst of it, my friends!
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| waiting patiently .. |
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| Getting onto the bus ..
Now .. it's important to note that what happened next was completely planned, i had thought it through in my head and decided that it was completely okay to do on the very first bus day .. so as he was the last to get on the bus and i called out goodbye, i turned to the 2 other Mum's who had just seen their kids off, and decided there was no time to say goodbye, Roxiee and i now had a mission to complete .. we had to get our Forrest Gump on and run like spastics and then ..
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.. we had to "follow that bus" .. Roxiee was chanting in the back seat .. "Quick Mum, it's getting away" .. "FOLLOW THAT BUS!" .. as we drove past the 2 mums who had just put their kids onto the bus and were now standing having a chat, they both had their backs to the road and i was saying in my head .. "Don't turn around .. don't look at me desperately following that bus .. SHIT .. they're waving to me!" .. DOH! .. hopefully they were waving and saying .. "Nawww, remember when we did that?" .. but i know it's more likely that they were waving and saying .. "WHAT THE FUCK?"
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| Never fear my dear .. Mumma will put the Padge into superdrive and catch that bus .. |
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