Bus Disaster/Adventure

Molly was excited about Kindergarten but what really sealed the deal for her is when she found out she could take a bus rather than having to do "carpool like in preschool." On the third day of school when we told the teacher Molly would be riding the bus home, her eyes bugged out of her head. Based on her reaction and suggestion, we waited 3 more weeks until the buses "started to run on a more regular schedule."


The big day arrived for Molly to ride the bus home - I made sure we had plenty of time to get to the bus stop, Lindsey got her bike tires all pumped up and she was ready to go as well. We were right on time at the bus stop; 3:00 p.m.

We waited, and waited, and waited - all in the blazing South Carolina sun, of course. At 3:30 p.m., we were STILL standing at the bus stop and I was in freak out mode.

Rather than do something that makes sense, like call the school on my cell phone, I called my friend Elizabeth to call the school. She called me back to let me know the bus had broken down. At this point I felt certain that Molly was hot, scared, and was probably getting yelled at by some mean bus driver for crying out for her mommy. I had Elizabeth to come and stand at the bus stop for me (in case the bus did show up) while my other friend Crystal picked me up to go look for the bus along the bus route.

We were off and spotted bus 43 on the side of Mallet Hill and just as we were doing an illegal U-turn, the bus pulled off. Madison was in the back and ready for the bus chase.

The bus passed our stop, but we kept on following it even though Madison assured us she could see no kids on the bus. After trying frantically to get through to the school on my phone, the secretary called me back and let me know the kids had never even gotten on the bus and had been at school, safe and sound, the entire time. I asked her NOT to put Molly on the replacement bus, and we went to the school to pick up Molly. Crystal's SUV was not quite the ride Molly was looking for, but it was better than risking another bus fiasco!

Elizabeth finally got to leave the bus stop, Crystal finally got to go home, and Shelly finally got rid of all the kids she had to watch while we were running around like maniacs trying to find Molly and her bus. And what did we do when that night Molly asked to ride the bus again? Like fools,we said SURE!