School Starts!!!! Disastrous First Morning

The photo on the bottom was actually taken today, the 3rd day of school. The top pic was the first day of school 2 years ago. It was funny to see the difference.

We had a really rough start this year. Because D and K are starting a preschool program on Tues/Thurs, I decided to do the morning bus thing for Mel and JM. They were very excited about this so I took them to the bus stop at 6:45 that morning. The school bus was supposed to stop at 7:03 so I told them to stay put. I had to run insided to grab my camera for first day pics. When I ran back out to the bus stop, they were gone. I thought it was a little weird but just thought it must have come early. I drove down the road and there were kids on the road still waiting for the Bob Beard bus (our school). Then I saw another bus come by to take the neighbors that weren't able to get into Beard to the overflow school, Wanke Elementary. Then I saw the Bob Beard bus. By this time, I really was freaking out. Where had they gone? They weren't on the overflow bus or the Beard bus. I thought maybe some stranger had them. I was shaking and crying and called all the dispatch bus offices in Northside but I was transferred over and over again and never got through. I paged Warren a few times but his OR had started at 7.

I ended up waking K and D up and throwint them into the car to drive to the school. I found Mark, the principal and explained the situation. The school secretary started called the bus people and the surrounding schools started to look for them. Apparently, the Steubling buses weren't coming to my neighborhood until the 3rd day of school but my friends there said the school was looking for them, anyhow. It was a complete nightmare and the worst morning of my life. I didn't really think they would both go with a stranger but we had checked all the other possibilites. Mark took us to his office and suggested I call SAPD. By this time school had been in session for 30 minutes. They had been gone for about an hour and a half. Needless to say, we found them. Another bus driver from Monroe May had picked them up and taken them to that school by mistake. When he dropped them off at Beard, they were shaken up but not too bad. Just a few tears and red eyes.

This whole bus thing is just so dumb. I still don't get why we need 4 elementary school buses coming to our one little bus stop. None of our kids here even attend those schools and why didn't he make sure they were going to Beard? I saw the Wanke bus this morning stop here 5 minutes before ours? Stupid, stupid, stupid. Too confusing. I should never have left them there to get my camera but I had no idea there were other buses stopping here. That's what zoing is for!!!!!

After school let out Monday, we went straight to T-Mobile and now they both have cell phones. I used to think it was ridiculous for kids to have them but changed my mind after Monday. Never say never!