Oh Yeah, My Life!

All morning I have been pinching myself. Could it actually be true? Do I really have school-aged children?

As one internet friend wrote to me, "Not that we don't love the little goobers, but..." Yeah. I love em, and everything, but this is frickin paradise.

This morning Scott and I waited with them at the bus stop (how Americana do you get) and then the big yellow beast rolled up and they hopped in and waved and that was that. We came back and made breakfast. For ourselves. And watched a grown-up DVD. At 8 am. And then Scott took a nap (no cleaning this morning) and I worked on Artist Way stuff and wrote for a while on a new project.

The previous list was brought to you by WFREE. To contribute to this station, send your children into the lap of public education.

But oh! in case you thought things were going to be boring now, allow me to share this little tiddy. Yesterday was the kids' first day on the bus, right? Last year we drove them all over creation. So yesterday morning they got on just fine and yesterday MIL and I wait and wait and wait for them to get home. No bus. I call the bus garage, learn all busses are held up by road construction. Oh, there's the bus--foolish mom, here. There go all the kids off the bus. But where are my kids? No kids. MIL and I hop in the truck and speed after the bus, thinking they missed their stop. No kids at next stop. From cell phone, I call bus garage again. Say my kids are still on the bus and I am behind the bus, could bus driver please tell them to get off? Oh, he says, they already got off, five blocks early. My children, mind you, do not leave the yard without an adult. I mean, come on, Jordan's only six! Now we learn they are wandering the Ellensburg streets! Lost! Probably crying! Their first day on the bus! We speed up the road to find our wanderlings. I am in a panic. They have probably already been abducted by a nice man with lollipops in his glove box. They probably forgot to look both ways and are flattened someplace. But in fact they turn out to be almost home, walking along, perfectly happy and contented. Once my heart stops pounding, I realize that in fact they are both totally delighted with this turn of events. I asked why they got off the bus where they did. "Oh," said Jordan, "we didn't mind walking." And off he went, merry as he can be, into the house for a snack. Right after I choke that bus driver ("they seemed fine", he advised the bus garage dispatcher, as I heard right over the telephone), I will stop and be amazed that in fact my school-aged children really do have it together.

So the adventures continue. And now I'll have all day long to ponder them in peace.