First Day of School

Children are waiting at the end of their driveways again to board the big yellow buses that transport them to school.

Every time a new school year rolls around I think back to the day in 1994 when Katherine, my first born, went to Kindergarten.

She was enrolled at Valley Christian Academy, but she rode the Kenston bus. This meant she had to get off one bus and get on another one to get to the right school.

We were counting on the two girls next door to help Katherine with the transfer process. They were going to VCA too, and they were in 4th and 2nd grades.

Don and I didn't know any better. We figured everyone rode the bus to school, even on the first day. So we waited with Katherine at the end of the driveway. The bus was late, as it usually is on the first day, and with each passing moment, we became more nervous. Christy and Katie next door were not at the end of their driveway.

When the bus finally arrived, we said goodbye to our six-year-old and then I began to cry. Not because it was her first day of school, but I was afraid she wouldn't know when to get off the bus.

Don had a plan right away. He jumped in his car and followed the school bus to the Kenston elementary school where she would have to transfer. Sure enough, she stayed on the bus. Don got out of his car and onto the stopped bus to get her off. I wonder if she was surprised to see him.

He made sure she got on the bus headed to VCA, and then he drove off to work. This was before cell phones,  so I probably had to wait until he could call me later. I prayed all was fine.

We didn't make the same mistake on the first day of school after that. It became routine to drive the kids to school and drop them off. What were we thinking? Especially a Kindergartner!