Wait, that’s not how that was supposed to go
Posted on | August 31, 2010 5 Comments | e-mail | print
Owen begins kindergarten today. And thanks to me, he almost missed the bus. How frustrating must it be for a punctual kid to be at the mercy of a chronically late mother?
He’s in afternoon kindergarten. The bus is supposed to arrive at 12:14. Last night we packed his school bag and hung it up by the front door. By 10:30 a.m. today he had dressed himself (handsomely, I might say), with his name-tag lanyard already around his neck. by 11:15 a.m. he was eating a well-balanced lunch and by 11:54 a.m. he was brushing his teeth. Plenty of time! My plans are working!
But then (as always in my house) one minute before we were going leave, there was a clothing mishap, and he had to change. Then I noticed his handsome shirt had a hole in it. And his new socks looked ridiculous with the shorts he had to change into. So we had to come up with a brand-new First Day of School outfit, and I should have bought him new clothes, and nothing matched, and it’s 92 degrees outside and all his summer clothes have been through a summer of playing and camping and marshmallows, and I can’t send you to school in that! And why don’t these socks fit? and why didn’t I think to buy you a new outfit and then forbid you to wear it until 12:01 p.m.? You’ll have to wear this. Hurry! Shoot, those socks won’t work either (“But mom, I really don’t think we have time to change.”). Where are your shoes! COME ON LET’S GO!
Run out the door, hoping for enough time to snap some photos before meeting the bus at the end of the block, forgetting a crucial element: Mackie. And he needs his shoes on to come with us down the street. And he can’t find them. Tear through the basket of shoes by the door until I find something that will fit his feet. OK COME ON LET’S GO. Snap a picture in front of the house; it’s blurry. RRRRRUMBLE. What’s that noise? The BUS? Already? 10 minutes early? Shoot. WAIT WHERE IS IT GOING? HEY! BUS! We’re still a block away and the bus isn’t stopping. Isn’t it supposed to stop? RUN RUN RUN. By God my kid is not missing the bus on the first day of school. As God is my witness! Et cetera. Yelling at Mackie over my shoulder to wait right there on the sidewalk, I’m just going to get Owen across the street to catch the bus. Not a good idea. Mackie is crying, Owen is maybe freaking out a little but still running faster than his 9.5 -months pregnant mom, we jay-walk (jay-run) across the street to the corner, the bus keeps driving forward — did the driver even see us? STOP DRIVING, YOU STUPID DRIVER. We reach the bus and Owen runs right up the steps and disappears. The bus sits. And sits. And sits. What the rock? The bus sits. I at least try to find the top of Owen’s head through the windows, and my heart is pounding, and the baby is protesting this little sprint. My neighbor reaches my side, having escorted Mackie across the street to stand with us, because she’s an angel (and what was I thinking, leaving him on the other side of the road?!) and he’s crying, because his mother and brother just ran off without him to catch a bus, and baby, I’d cry too.
The bus sits. WHAT THE HELL. Why did I run? If I had known the bus was just going to SIT THERE, across the street, stressing me out; if I had known it would be 10 minutes early, I could have planned everything 10 minutes earlier. We still would have had a last-minute emergency, but at least I still could have, would have, taken my sweet time and kissed my big boy goodbye, taken a picture with my cell phone to send to my mother, soaked up the importance of such a big day — the first day of school! Leaving me, on a bus! Doing his own thing! — instead of trying to catch his eye through the window, consoling my youngest, feeling like this is not the way the first day of kindergarten is supposed to happen. Instead of standing here, panting, heart racing, cursing my own inability to be safely early to anything.
Realizing that my boy, if left to his own devices, would have been calmly standing at the bus stop, 15 minutes early, in mis-matched socks and a clean (albeit holey) shirt.
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5 Responses to “Wait, that’s not how that was supposed to go”
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Oh hey you guys, it's me, Supa. Things I enjoy: talking on my bananaphone, being a nerd, writing, sewing, writing about sewing, giving my husband high-fives, playing Nintendo with my kids, playing with technological gadgetry, knitting, and reading decorating books. Did I write down nachos? Add that in there.
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August 31st, 2010 @ 1:30 pm
Ah, but his first day will now be MEMORABLE. Who remembers the first day of anything if everything went smoothly. Now Cormac and Miss Newbie can have smooth first days that will be remembered because of their sad boring comparison to Owen’s exciting Run for Learning!
Reply to thisAugust 31st, 2010 @ 2:13 pm
Take his picture tomorrow. Who’s gonna know?
Reply to thisAugust 31st, 2010 @ 2:57 pm
I WILL! That’s who!!
Reply to thisAugust 31st, 2010 @ 10:29 pm
RUN FOR LEARNING!
God, this day was horrible. I srewed up the school bus pickup AND dropoff and if he takes a week to forgive me I would understand. The poor kid.
Reply to thisSeptember 2nd, 2010 @ 7:41 am
More important than Owen first day, this is the beginning of YOUR new chapter as a Mom. Get used to the feelings you had…….from here on in, control is but a pleasant memory. Once a little birdie breaks out of the nest, you will forever be at the whim of the planets . The most important realization? EVERYONE survived! Congratulations MB, great job!!!
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