One - I drive school bus for a living - or half a living because that is how much I get paid. :) I only drive grade school kids - that is kindergarten to sixth grade.
Two - My route is half highway stops. Yes, I have to stop other cars on a highway - not freeway - highway - not that they stop. Now that, I am sorry to say is true. (but that is a subject for another blog) But because of safety - the children who get on/off on these stops have a few extra rules they must go by.
1. They must be there when I pull up in the morning - I cannot wait for runners. - Yes, I have driven off when they were soooo close.
2. They must get on quickly and sit in their assigned seat quickly.
3. They must be ready to exit the bus quickly also - we cannot wait while they put on a coat or fix their backpack.
4. For kindergarten, first and most second graders - if your parent - or who ever is going to pick you up - is not at the stop - you must stay on the bus - tell me that your ride is not there - then we do what we must for your safety.
Now for the stops that I only have a few kids get off - it is not hard for me to know if the parent is not there - but I have two stops where 10 to 15 kids get off and I have this rule to help me not miss something.
Now this story is about "Billy". (names were changed to protect the innocent - me) He is a willful child. He is in kindergarten and has an older sister - who is either fifth or sixth grade. Anyway - their stop is at the county line - in a nice wide area - mostly paved -( because the snow plows turn around there) - just off the highway. Billy and his sister actually live in the other county and they catch my bus at this - the closest stop - to their house - which is five or six miles away. So - if their parent is late to the stop - they must stay on the bus. This happens a couple times a week and because we are in a safe place off the highway- we can just wait without any problems. I usually only have to wait less than a minute - and after the car stops - Billy and his sister get off the bus and go home. Billy has had to be told quite a few times to wait till he sees his Mom before he gets off and quite a few times I have had to put my arm out to prevent him from getting off because his Mom was not their yet. No problem!! Until....
One day last week big sister wasn't on the bus. This particular day he wanted off the bus - got out into the aisle and tried to get off - I told him that "No" his mom was not there yet and he must wait - he just stood there - with 10 kids behind him waiting to go to their homes. I then had to instruct Billy to get back into his seat so the other kids could get off. This made him mad for some reason. About thirty seconds after the last child got off the bus Billy's Mom pulls up. I tell him that it is OK to get off now and he does. As he gets off and takes two steps - turns around - and says to me "You are not the boss of me and you are not my parent" Then he sticks his tongue out at me and makes that raspberry noise. (How do you type that?) Then he runs off to his Mom's car.
So, I cannot laugh - I hate moments like this - you cannot laugh or you make things worse. I just pull up to Mom's car and tell Billy's Mom what just happen. After she hides her laughter - she says she will talk to him.
The next day Billy gives me this - and he tell me that yes, while he is on my bus I am the boss of him.
I love parents who care!!!!
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