Lion and Magic Boy

What would you do right after having put all three kids on the bus and shipped them off to their respective schools, all of them, for the first time in three months?

a.) Go for a bike ride immediately, since it looks like it might rain later and you’ve totally been slacking lately.

b.) Get lots and lots of work done! Because you are so awesome and people love you and you are so organized awesome!

c.) Read a book! Which you haven’t done in months even though you are pretty sure you do remember books.

d.) Catch up on your blog reading. After all, these are your PEOPLE, they understand you (even though they don’t know you and you, like, stalk them a little), and you cannot start your day without them (and three cups of coffee)!

Yes, exactly as I thought.

Nathaniel’s bus experience:
The bus comes at 7:37! That’s am! And he has to be at the stop 10 minutes early! At 7:26 he is lacing his shoes and eating a bagel with peanut butter:

Oh, I’m going to be late where’s my lunch what if they don’t let me eat my bagel on the bus my poison ivy huuuurts it’s all over my legs and I can’t walk what if I can’t walk at school what if I……

The sound trails off because I have pushed him out the door and closed it. And locked it. That was two hours agao and he hasn’t come back so I’ll assume he made it on the bus.

Eric’s bus experience:
[Eric, looking out the front window]

Bus! Bus! Bus! Meeeeeee! Bus! Buuuuuuuuus!

[waving arms excitedly]

I put him on the bus. We are happy to see his old bus driver from last year. He gives me the hand so I know it’s time to go. All the kids who go to Serena’s school are headed for the bus stop so I go in to get her without waving that last time to Eric.

Serena’s bus experience:
We walk to the end of the street where there are approximately 4,902 other kids from the neighborhood, all awaiting the bus. I found out last week that the girl who lives in the house not 30 feet from our front door is in Serena’s grade. At her school. I had no idea. I heart my neighbors! So my mission in life today is to make contact with said girl’s mother to employ my various charms in arranging a playdate for Serena, who is somewhat socially-challenged. Like I don’t know where she got that from.

As we approach the bus stop, I see the mom! I see the girl! The mom turns and glances at me, and then moves away in the other direction and engages another mom with in conversation, her back to me.

Okay then! I am awesome! I turn and speak to the other neighborhood pariah, the mom of 28 kids who all look somewhat alike and are all dressed in nearly-identical striped shirts.

I look around and notice that I don’t know any of these people; in fact, I have never seen most of them. These are my neighbors? Who knew?

It’s last-in, first-out, so after all the kids are on the bus and I wave to Serena half-heartedly, I turn and walk toward my house, ahead of all my neighbors, knowing that they are probably looking at my ass. Which is awesome so have a good look people!

And tomorrow I might actually talk to you!

Because I am, you know, awesome.