The School Bus

Lenny was so excited to finally get to ride the school bus when school started. He looks like such a big kid getting on the bus with everyone else. It's so cute. And believe it or not, he still likes riding the bus even after what happened to him the second and third week of school.

The first week of school was great. We had no problems at all. Then at the beginning of the second week of school, he missed the bus home from school. I was a little disappointed that it happened especially since he is in Kindergarten. I thought for sure that the teachers would be standing there with a list of kids and their bus numbers. Nope. It was completely up to Lenny to know what his bus number was. He, along with another girl in his class who rides his bus, missed the bus. Neither one of them could tell the teacher their bus number. I still think that the teacher should have had their numbers there to help them.

Anyway, Brooke and Nathan were waiting with me at the bus stop. When the bus came, all the kids got off and Lenny was still not there. I asked the bus driver and she said that he wasn't on the bus. She quickly radio'd the school to find out where he was. He was still at school and waiting in the office. They tried to call me but I had already left for the bus stop and didn't take my cell phone. I always take it now.

So I quickly loaded the kids in the van and headed off to the school. It's only five minutes from our house so it wasn't that far to drive. The entire time I was thinking that Lenny would be upset and worried. It was completely different. I got to the office and they said that he was in his classroom. We headed back to his classroom and he was playing and not worried at all. It made me feel so good that he wasn't upset.

So then the next week, it was even worse for my little Bo Benny. The bus arrived early and I was still on the other side of the street when it got there. I started walking across as the kids were unloading. Lenny will not get off the bus if I'm not there. One time I was by myself without Brooke and Nathan. Lenny didn't know for sure if it was me. He stood at his seat in the bus and said, "Mommy. Are you mine?" It was adorable. The bus driver smiled and said, "Yes, she's yours."

Back to my story. The kids were unloading as I was walking across the street. Then I hear another mom telling Lenny that I was there and she was showing him where I was. He then took one step down the stairs. He tripped on his coat that was in his hands and he didn't hit another step. He landed flat on his face on the pavement. My poor little guy didn't even try to stop himself with his hands. I got there just in time to see him hit the ground. I wanted to cry. I was so afraid to see his face when I picked him up. He had a red and swollen face, a huge bump on his forehead and a bloody nose. He looked terrible.

He just kept saying that he wanted to go home. I think he was embarrassed. While I was helping Lenny, a few other moms watched Brooke and Nathan for me to keep them out of the road. Then we all walked back home. It's a little bit of a walk too. Lenny was crying and each time a tear rolled down his face he said, "Mommy, is that blood?" He did that a few times on the way home. All the while, he was screaming very loud and I'm sure the neighbors probably wondered what in the world was going on.

We got home, I cleaned up his face and put a band aid on him. He kept asking for one and I didn't want to put it on the wound so I just put it in the middle of his head. Below is a picture of him.


So Lenny's experience with the bus wasn't the most exciting the first few weeks of school but he still loves riding the bus. He is very careful now when getting off of the bus and he can tell you that his bus number is 253.