Since moving here, the girls have started to take the bus to school, which is almost a necessity because this is a small county and the schools are far apart. It's really not bad though because both of their buses stop right on the corner, two houses away. On my Fridays off, as well as those I work (I get off an hour earlier); I generally walk to the bus stop to meet Meelie. The only reason I don't do this for Chickie is because that would be categorized as "Most Embarrassing Moment" in her "Book of Mother's Faults." "Helloooo, Mom? I'm 13 now and NOT a baby any more!" I guess I can understand that, especially after she has finally forgiven me for shouting out "MAKE GOOD CHOICES!" as she was climbing on the school bus one morning. She didn't talk to me for over two weeks.

I'm bringing this up because I needed to go into work today (on my day off) and finish up some work as I'll be heading down with the girls to my parent's house for Easter and a few days during the week. I specifically stopped early enough so that I could be home in time to meet Meelie at the bus stop. And the bus is late. As in over 35 minutes late. Understanding that she attends a public school helps me realize that this should not surprise me one iota. These kinds of things tend to happen when a driver calls in sick or a bus breaks down, and they have to cram four routes into one vehicle.

I still can't help but worry because I remember at the beginning of the year, Meelie's bus was late. Or so I thought. I realized there might be a problem when I saw other kids playing out on our street who took the same bus as she did. I ran headlong into a wall of bricks when the reality of the situation hit me. My child did not get off the bus, or worse yet, was not on the bus.

My mouth felt like the armpit of a gorilla with a side of Tabasco sauce as I called the school and calmly (on the outside) inquired as to the whereabouts of my child. I could hear mild pandemonium in the background as two-way communicators were going off while they furtively tried to contact the driver. When the lady came back on the line (it happened to be the principal) she told me that apparently, Meelie had fallen asleep on the bus and they were well into the second route before it was discovered (when I called).

So you see, while it turned out this had a happy ending, I don't have a lot of faith in the school bus system. If you'll excuse me, I need to go call the school now.